Hearts of Steel
by TheGryphon
Summary: One year after the events of Suits of Iron, Tony Stark is unveiling an invention that can change the world-The Vulcan's Heart. Only it mysteriously dissappears, and only some old friends hold any answers. A new Marvel Metroid crossover begins! Complete
1. Chapter 1 Voice From the Future

_Here is the beginning to my second Marvel/Metroid crossover. I don't own any characters except for Aluren, Morin, The Syndicate Members, and, of course, Gyllin._

Hearts of Steel

Chapter I: Voice From the Future.

It was a bright morning. The sun was shining brightly against a cerulean backdrop, with only a few faint wisps of cloud hanging in the chill morning air. The sounds of traffic could be heard from down below.

Clint Barton, otherwise known as the Avenger Hawkeye, was whistling to himself softly as he shaved in front of the hotel bathroom mirror. The small window that opened out to the world was only slightly open, allowing a faint flutter of wind rustle into the small bathroom. From beyond the slightly ajar bathroom door, the faint sound of a television could be heard

"Tonight is the big night," a female's voice "Tony Stark will be unveiling his newest invention to the world at the UN Inventors Summit tonight. The billionaire playboy claims that this device – the Vulcan's Heart – will be able to power entire cities with minimal energy. A truly remarkable device – if it works. And there are plenty of skeptics that doubt Mr. Stark's boasts.."

The television continued, but Clint decided to tune it out as he finished shaving. When he was done, he rubbed his now smooth face with his hand as he grinned to his reflection. He then brushed his hand through his blond hair, and put the razor back into the medicine cabinet behind the mirror.

"Tony," he whispered. "I hope this idea of your works. Because I don't want to be there if you fail," he added with a sarcastic grin. Tony was adamant that Clint be there at the unveiling for 'support' if something were to happen. Why he chose good ol' Hawkeye instead of a powerhouse like Thor was a mystery to Clint. But who was he to turn down a good friend though? He accepted readily, though he resented getting all dressed up. He looked at the pricey tuxedo that Tony gave him for the night. It hung on a hanger on the bathroom door and he sighed.

"Give me some jeans and a t-shirt any day," Clint said as he walked through the bathroom door. He was only wearing a pair of faded blue jeans.

"But you look so nice when you clean up," a tired feminine voice said from the bedroom. Clint walked into the room, and saw the lump covered by the comforter of the bed. He walked up to the bed, sitting next to the lump, and gently pulled back the comforter.

"What time is it?" the feminine voice asked again as she looked around the room from behind a tangled mess of dark brown hair. Clint only got a glimpse of one of her deep brown eyes, and smiled broadly to find that she still wasn't wearing anything.

"Still too early," Clint said as he kissed her on the forehead. The woman grinned, and kissed Clint eagerly.

Inside the UN building, the gala was something to behold. People were all over the place, scientists from all walks of life tittered endlessly about their newest and greatest invention while reporters tirelessly flittered around the building tracking the hottest story of the summit.

Just like any such gathering, however, Clint Barton felt more than just a little out of place. He took a glass of champaign from a passing waiter, quickly downed it, and put the glass on the edge of a table. Clint then took a handful of little finger sandwiches left on the table, and stuffed one in his mouth. He shook his head.

"Give me a pair of blue jeans and a seedy bar any day," he muttered to himself as a thin woman in a slinky dress walked passed him. He raised one eyebrow and smirked as he stuffed another sandwich in his mouth. "But this does have its advantages."

"Clint!" a voice said from behind him, almost causing him to choke on the sandwich. He turned around and saw a tall man with short-cropped black hair and a neatly trimmed moustache. His tuxedo must have cost more than Clint's whole wardrobe. He held a half empty glass of water in his left hand.

"Tony," Clint said, grasping Tony Stark's hand firmly. "How are ya?"

"Good," Tony said with a nod. "A little nervous, though."

"Nervous? You?" Clint exclaimed. "How can Tony Stark be nervous?"

"I have a lot riding on the Heart," Tony said with his typical smile. "If it doesn't work, then there will be a lot of unhappy people – including me."

"Is there a chance that it won't?" Clint asked.

"Always," Tony said, taking a drink of water. A flurry of activity started occurring from the main chambers. "I think they will be starting soon."

"Yup. Looks like that," Clint said. "Ready?"

"As ready as I'll be," Tony said as the two drifted with the flow of the crowd.

"Ladies and gentleman," the ancient looking old man said in a raspy voice. Wisps of white hair jutted out from his head, and he glared at the audience from behind thick spectacles. "I am Professor Jospeh Morin, and I would like to welcome you to the summit tonight. We have many renowned inventors here tonight from all parts of the globe to present their ideas for a better, more peaceful, tomorrow for us all. These inventions range from prototypes for flying cars to life saving medical devices."

"Man," Clint said, sitting next to Tony. "Morin likes to hear himself talk. I mean, how could someone who is, what – a hundred- contain so much hot air?"

"Be nice Clint," Tony said. "Dr. Morin is a renown physicist and a former colleague of mine, and he's earned his spot. He's also only 87," Tony said with a smirk. Clint laughed at that last part.

"He still looks like an extra from 'Night of the Living Dead'," Clint said as Morin prattled on.

"It looks like someone is gesturing at me," Morin said, squinting. "Oh yes! We must be moving on. Dear me, I can get going sometimes!" Polite laughter echoed throughout the room. "And now, let me introduce our first inventor, Dr. Mary Allman." The audience clapped as a slender middle-aged woman walked up to the podium, a covered cart being rolled up onto stage.

"How many flying cars do you expect to see tonight, Tony?" Clint asked with a smirk.

"I would guess thirty – and there are only twenty six inventors here," Tony said.

"What, you planning one?" Clint asked.

"I had one built when I was ten," Tony said with a smile.

"Why am I not surprised?" Clint said.

One hour and ten flying cars later (each saying they were better than the last), Morin walked up to the podium again.

"And now I would like to give a special welcome to our next guest. He is an inventor, playboy, and supporter of the Avengers. Give a nice round of applause for Anthony Stark and his Vulcan's Heart!" The room exploded with applause.

"Showtime," Tony said.

"You'll do fine," Clint nodded.

"Thank you," Tony said as he walked up to the stage. The room was hushed as a young male assistant wheeled out a covered cart. Tony waited for it to be in place before he began. Compared to the other inventors, his cart was relatively small, and he could see the puzzled expressions on the faces of people expecting to see the next Iron Man armor from Tony Stark.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Tony started. "Thank you all again for being here tonight. It means a lot to the scientific community to be able to share our inventions in such a friendly environment. That said, you did not come here to hear me prattle on," laughter sprinkled the room. Many, including Clint, looked towards Morin.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Esteemed scientists, and members of the press, I give you the Vulcan's Heart!" He quickly removed the cover from the cart and revealed a slender gold box that was pristine in the fact that it had no markings, and only one panel with one wire sticking out from the bottom of the small gold box. A hushed silence went around the room, followed by small bits of conversation.

"The Vulcan's Heart," Tony continued. "Is a portable power device that perpetually generates power, a perfect energy source that never runs out." Clint could hear grunts of 'that is not possible' from people around him. Tony then went into a long technical discussion of the Heart that went well over Clint's head. After about ten minutes, Tony was nearing the end of his presentation. "Are there any questions?" Tony concluded.

"I have one," Morin said, raising his hand.

"Yes, Dr. Morin," Tony said.

"Mr. Stark, you have given a convincing discussion of how, in theory, such a thing is possible, but the question remains: does it work?"

"I was hoping someone would ask that," Tony said with a smirk. "Turn out the lights," Tony motioned to the assistant, who promptly followed suit, and the room went dark. Loud rumblings swirled around the room like a spring tide. A small pinprick of light – a flashlight – was all that remained, and that was focused on Tony. "I know many of you are wondering why I had the lights turned off." The grumblings affirmed this. Clint just sat there shaking his head with a wide grin.

"What do you have planned for us, Tony?" He asked to himself.

"The reason for this is to hook the Heart up to the building's electrical system to prove that it works." Tony paused, and nodded. "Now you will see the Vulcan's Heart at work!" He walked over to the Heart, flipped on a switch, and the whole room went up in a blaze of brilliance, and astounded gasps flooded the room. Clint squinted in the light as Tony dimmed them using the Heart. "I hope this alleviates doubt in the Heart's ability. This is, of course, a small prototype, and larger devices will be able to power entire cities, severing our need from other sources of energy. The Heart could solve all of our energy problems and bring a new era for mankind. Thank you."

The whole room was in shock, but then stood up and applauded loudly as Tony left the stage.

"You've done it again," Clint said to himself as Tony walked back to his seat.

A stunned Morin hobbled up onto stage.

"A hard act to follow indeed," he said in a hushed voice. "Our next inventor will be Hoshi Yakora of Japan."

The night air was cool, a slight breeze blowing in the still air. Lights from the city drowned out the countless stars that would normally dot the sky. The steady sounds of traffic could be heard below on the street. On the roof of the UN building, under the slim crescent moon, Tony Stark stood, leaning over the building's wall. Clint Barton walked up onto the room, finishing his third drink of the evening.

"People are looking for you downstairs you know," Clint asked as he walked up next to Tony. He looked down at the street and watched the cars driving by.

"I know," Tony said. "I just needed some fresh air."

"The Heart was a success," Clint said. "You have nothing to hide from."

"Who says I'm hiding?"

"Okay, maybe you're not hiding," Clint said. "But there is something on your mind. What is it?"

"Samus," Tony said, looking at the traffic below.

"You're still going on about that?" Clint asked, a bit shocked. "Come on Tony, you're hung up on some woman from the future, who, as far as I'm concerned may not exist."

"She exists Clint," Tony said sternly. "Or, will exist I guess I should say."

"Sorry Tony," Clint said after a short pause. "I've had my share of drinks tonight, I didn't mean to pick at ya. I just want to make sure you're not driving yourself off of a short road here."

"I'm fine Clint. Thanks."

"For what?"

"For coming."

"Hey, no prob, buddy," Clint said. At that point, a loud roar came over the hush of the city, and the two Avengers perked up at the sound. From the streets of New York, a hulking form walked out of the shadows. It was a large beast, standing as tall as some of he smaller skyscrapers of New York. The beast was reptilian, with a large, dragon like head and green scales. Its eyes were red in the lights of the city, and huge horns stood on top of its head. Large spines protruded from its yellow underbelly. The beast bellowed again.

"Kraid," Tony said stunned. "What is he doing here?"

"Friend of yours?" Clint asked.

"Very close," Tony said dryly.

"Meet you there in ten minutes?" Clint asked with a wry grin.

"See you there," Tony smiled back.

Eight minutes later… 

Kraid bellowed as the flash bang arrow burst in front of its face and repulser blasts hit it square in the belly. Iron Man flew quickly by, dodging a swat from the large reptilian hulk. Kraid thrashed around, stepping on a car.

"This thing ain't slowing down Shellhead," Hawkeye said as he loaded up another arrow, and fired. This one exploded on the beast's armored hide.

"So Kraid, haven't seen you in a while," Iron Man said as he unleashed another repulser volley into Kraid. "You and Ridley need to send me postcards every once in a while. Speaking of which, where is your boyfriend Ridley?"

"Right here, Samus-lite," a voice hissed from behind him. Iron Man turned to see a sinewy, crimson creature with a long head with rows of sharp teeth and long hands tipped with sharp talons. It floated on leathery wings. Ridley dove close to Iron Man, but did not attack.

"Hold it right there, bulb head!" Hawkeye yelled as he notched a razor arrow.

"Look, Iron Man brought a friend," Ridley said as the purple clad Avenger fired the arrow. Ridley nimbly dodged, while Kraid continued his march through the streets.

"Bastard," Hawkeye said as Iron Man crashed into Ridley from behind. The two crashed into the ground in one massive heap on the pavement. Iron Man quickly disengaged himself as Hawkeye readied another arrow and fired at the swiftly moving Ridley. The sinewy beast laughed at Hawkeye, but his expression turned into one of shock as the net arrow opened up and enveloped Ridley in fine mesh. He hissed as he hit the ground.

"Thanks," Iron Man said dryly. "He was getting more than a little annoying."

"Anytime Shellhead," Hawkeye said with a grin. He readied another arrow at Kraid, who continued to advance.

"Lights out big boy," Hawkeye said when another, louder voice echoed in the night:

"Stop!"


	2. Chapter 2 Kyliska ta Lekya

Chapter II: Kyliska ta Lekya

"Stop!" Samus' voice rang over the cries of battle. Ridley, Kraid, Iron Man, and Hawkeye all stopped their fighting at the sound of her voice. Ridley hissed as he struggled under the net from Hawkeye's net arrow.

"Samus!" Iron Man shouted in surprise as he saw her.

"She's real!?" Hawkeye exclaimed. Both Iron Man and Samus glared at him.

"Yes, I'm real," Samus said. _God, Tony, it feels good to see you again._ She thought. She swallowed hard, glad that her helmet hid her features. "But your Heart won't be for much longer," Samus said, recovering herself.

"What?" Iron Man asked puzzled.

"The Heart, someone is after the Vulcan's Heart!" Samus yelled, a little irritated.

"How do you know this?"

"I don't have time for this Iron Man!" Samus yelled. "If you don't go protect the Heart, lots of bad things are going to happen. You understand?"

"Perfectly," Iron Man said. "Good to see you too," he said over the roar of his boot jets and he took off towards the UN summit.

_Sorry Tony. I really am._ Samus thought. _But this is business._ She glared at Ridley and Kraid, and at the purple clad archer in front of her.

"All right Ridley," Samus said, walking towards the entwined beast. "Where are the rest of your cronies?" She leveled her gun arm at Ridley. Kraid roared.

"You stay right there," Hawkeye said, his arrow still trained on him. He glanced over his shoulder at Samus with a quizzical look.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Ridley hissed.

"Like hell you do," Samus said. "I have my arm cannon set to plasma, which is more than enough to fry you, and you know it. Now, why are you here?"

"Go to hell, Samus!" Ridley spat.

"I won't warn you again, Ridley," Samus said dryly.

Ridley paused. He muttered some curses to himself.

"Very well," he hissed. "But first, let me say this: we are not your enemies this time."

**Iron Man** flew as fast as he could towards the back of the building where the Heart was kept. He flew passed empty cars and deserted buildings under the starless night, the slim crescent moon and the bright city lights illuminating his way in a rapid blur. As he reached the back, Tony Stark flew through the wall of the building among shouts of startled people. _I can pay the bill later_ Tony thought hurriedly.

He navigated through the narrow halls, knocking down any problematic walls that happened to be in his way, and eventually made it to where the Heart was stored – only to find Morin there. Morin stood there, dry washing his hands with his aged face cast downwards. His eyes were closed.

"Morin?" Iron Man asked. "Where is the Vulcan's Heart?"

Morin swallowed hard. After a long pause, he spoke.

"Gone," he choked. "It disappeared before our very eyes. One moment, it was the center of attention, the next it was gone. Into thin air. If I hadn't been in the room, at the time, I would have scoffed at the very notion." Iron Man walked up to the now uncovered cart for his invention. It was empty. "I only know what myself, and everyone else, saw happen. I cannot explain it." Tony grabbed the cloth, twisted it, and ripped it apart wordlessly.

"There is nothing you could have done Morin. Was anything else taken?" Iron Man said. Morin shook his head. Iron Man, then, proceeded to walk towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Morin asked weakly.

"To get my Heart back," Iron Man said.

"Godspeed, then," Morin said. Iron Man nodded and walked out into the night air and screamed at the top of his lungs. He banged a metal fist against a wall, leaving a good-sized chunk in the stone.

"Damn it!" Tony said. "Figures that I come up with an invention that changes the world, and someone has to go and steal it. And then Samus shows up." He paused. "What are you going to get me into this time Samus," Iron Man whispered to himself. He then kicked his boot jets into gear, and flew back to where Samus and the others were.

_One thing is for certain_, Iron Man thought; _it is good to see her again._

"**How** can I trust you?" Samus asked Ridley.

"You have to," he hissed as he dragged himself out of the remnants of the net. Samus' gun arm was still trained on him, though it was only set on the ice beam this time. "It is in both of our best interests."

"It's gone," Iron Man said as he landed next to Samus.

"Then we were too late," Samus winced underneath her helmet.

"I told you, bounty hunter," Ridley said.

"Then we should ask the two stooges here if they had anything to do with it," Iron Man growled, pointing his repulsers at Kraid. Samus lowered her gun arm, and Hawkeye had long since taken to leaning on his bow. Kraid just stood there, staring down at the lot.

"As much as it pains me to say this Iron Man," Samus said softly. "I do not believe they were responsible."

"What is going on here?" Iron Man asked. "These two tried to kill us last time, and you have not had the most rosy memories with Ridley there!" That hit Samus hard. She hated the idea as much as he had.

"Iron Man," Samus said. "You said the Heart was gone. How was it taken?"

"Morin said it just disappeared," Iron Man asked.

"Disappeared?" Hawkeye exclaimed.

"Why do you ask?" Iron Man asked.

"Because that doesn't fit standard operating procedure for Space Pirates. Way too sophisticated," Samus said, and Ridley hissed at that. "They would have leveled the building and taken by force." Samus tried to see past Iron Man's mask and see the face behind it. Iron Man paused.

"Damn it!" Iron Man said. "If these two didn't, then who did?"

"Calm down Iron Man," Hawkeye said. "We'll get it back."

"Why is the Heart so important that people from the future would want to get their hands on it?" Iron Man asked in a now level voice.

"I don't know," Samus said. Iron Man glared at Ridley.

"It could mean the doom of us all," Ridley said. "We were sent back to protect it, but we did not count on meeting," he paused. "Resistance." Ridley flashed his teeth. "Please, understand that we are not here to fight you Iron Man, nor Samus. We only want to make sure that the Heart gets back here in one piece."

"'Enemy of my enemy is my friend," Iron Man muttered. He looked at Samus. "What do you think?"

"I would rather just blast these two to space dust right here and now," Samus said. "But," she sighed. "I have to believe them. I was sent back by the Federation on a separate mission to protect the Heart. We all thought it would be Space Pirates as well, but as I said before, this is not their style of attack."

"They could also be playing us," Iron Man said. "How can we trust them?"

"How could we trust you?" Ridley said. "For all we know it is the Federation trying to obtain the Heart to extend their rule over the galaxy."

"He's right," Samus said. "I don't trust the Federation completely. They just pay the bills. The thieves could be anyone for all I know. We have to trust them." The words burned in her mouth. She looked at Ridley with nothing but hatred, but the logic of it all overruled her emotions here.

"Excuse me," Hawkeye said. "I have a suggestion." The other four turned towards him. "Could we just use what ever time travel doohitchey you guys used to get back here and go back in time twenty minutes to protect the Heart? Two minutes, and the problem is solved. Just enough time to vape these two," he gestured to Ridley and Kraid.

"Shut up foolish human!" Ridley hissed.

"Hawkeye is it?" Samus asked.

"That's right," Hawkeye smirked.

"I love your suggestion, I truly do," Samus said. "And if it were possible, I would do it in a second. However, time travel doesn't quite work like that yet. The Federation is starting to tinker with it, but it is a relatively new technology."

"'Federation' huh?" Hawkeye said. "Sounds like a 'Star Trek' episode to me."

"Funny," Samus said dryly. "Well, I guess we will stick with my original plan."

"Which was?" Iron Man asked.

"Retrieve you and head back to future and sort out this mess from there. I figured after we kicked Ultron's tin ass we could come up with something."

"Sounds like fun," Iron Man said.

"Good," Samus smiled underneath her helmet. "It will be a pleasure working with you again, Iron Man."

"And you, Samus Aran," Iron Man said.

"Good," Ridley hissed. "Now that you have officially reunited with each other, we will be on our way to sort this mess out. We will contact you when we obtain more information."

"How will we contact you?" Samus asked.

"You won't," Ridley said. "I don't fully trust you either, Samus Aran. It goes both ways."

"Fair enough," Samus said dryly.

"We will be in contact," Ridley hissed as he flew off. "Come Kraid, back to the ship." Kraid bellowed and followed him.

Samus, Iron Man and Hawkeye all watched them go.

"Shall we?" Samus asked.

"Of course," Iron Man said as the two began to walk off.

"Ahem," Hawkeye said from behind them. "Forgetting someone?"

"Oh hell no," Samus said. "We don't have room for you, and, to be perfectly honest, can handle this without you."

"Oh yeah!?" Hawkeye said. "Bring it on right now!" Hawkeye readied an arrow.

"Suit yourself," Samus shrugged.

"Wait!" Iron Man said. "Samus, Hawkeye is one of the best men I have ever served beside during my time with the Avengers, and that says a lot. He is a good friend and ally. And," Iron Man paused briefly. "I would trust him with my life and to watch my back. I think it would be valuable to bring him along."

Samus and Hawkeye each relaxed.

"Very well, Iron Man," Samus said. "You can come," she said to Hawkeye. "But call me 'babe', and you're getting shoved out of the nearest airlock.

"Got it," Hawkeye saluted. "Now, where is your ship?"

"This way," Samus gestured. Iron Man walked up beside her, Hawkeye trailing behind. "It is good to see you again, Tony," she whispered to him.

"It is good to see you too, Miss Aran," Tony whispered back, and Samus just smiled under her helmet.

**Victor** Von Doom hated taking orders from anyone. The mere thought that he had to run errands for anyone other than himself filled him with a bitter taste in his mouth. It was others that should grovel to _him_ and fear _him_, for that was how things were back in his country, in his time. Now, here he had to serve a master, and that made him quite irritated as he marched down the long, dark corridor.

Magius was a cunning man, Doom gave him that much. But he was also a foolish man, placing his trust in the hands of someone he hardly met. Surely he knew what type of man he was dealing with when he approached Dr. Doom with an interesting proposition, an opportunity for power. Magius promised large amounts of power if Doom did a little errand for him and his Syndicate, and Doom never turned down an opportunity for power. Little did this foolish Magius know that Doom had every intent to grab power, even the power that Magius now bore. Under his metal mask, Doom smiled.

He succeeded in his task, and quite well, Doom thought. The Vulcan's Heart was now in Magius' possession, and the old wizard said that the true power of the Heart will soon be unlocked. With that, Magius promised, Doom would have complete rule over any planet he wished, a feat that he could never accomplish in his own time due to the meddling of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. But Doom still desired more, and more he would grab.

But such a grab would not be easy. Magius was quite a skilled mystic, and he surrounded himself with many people of interesting talents in his Syndicate. The girl, Silence, proved quite useful in taking the Heart. Doom smiled as the memories of that escapade played out in his mind.

He let the two women do the work. He already knew that the Enchantress would do her job of making sure the people in the room were distracted, but he was unsure of Silence. Her slender form moved gracefully around the people hypnotized by Enchantress while Doom watched from the shadows. A few poor souls became aware of Silence, but were soon silenced by the assassin's long blades, the bodies quickly disposed of. No one realized the Heart was gone until they were well on their way. Doom continued to smile as he reached the door at the end of the hallway. It opened for him into a lit room.

In the immense room was just a small desk cluttered with objects and books, and a small chair sitting behind the desk. The walls were plain and windowless. In the chair behind the cluttered desk sat a tall and fairly muscled man wearing a quite pricey suit. His hair was black, but a few streaks of gray showed themselves. The man's face showed some lines of age, but the hard black eyes that stared down his hawk-like nose were those of a young and very dangerous man.

"You did well, Doom," Magius said in a booming voice.

"Thank you," the words burned in Doom's mouth. He was glad that his mask was hiding his grimace.

"The Heart is now ours," Magius said. "And the next phase of my plan will go into effect."

"And what of my reward?" Doom asked.

"I am afraid I cannot give you that right now," Magius said after a slight pause. "There has been a. …complication."

"What type of complication?" Doom asked icily. He was _not_ this man's errand boy!

"Some factors I had not accounted for when I first sent you after the Heart. Two groups that are opposed to my little plan sent agents back to intercept you."

"That is of little concern," Doom scoffed. "We have the Heart."

"Yes, we do, but that is where the complication comes in," Magius said as he stood up, and paced around the room.

"Two powers, the Galactic Federation, and their polar opposites, the Space Pirates have both sent people back to protect the Heart."

"Time travel," Doom said. "Then should we go back?"

"No," Magius said. "Their time travel techniques would not allow that."

"Then what is the complication?"

"There are a few, actually. The first being that both sides are following the 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' doctrine. I am a common threat, ergo that have apparently joined forces to stop me. Second, the Federation has assigned Samus Aran to the mission, and she is quite a formidable woman."

"She doesn't sound too threatening," Doom said.

"But I have yet to disclose the final snag. Miss Aran has brought back help – from your time." Dooms eyes widened behind his mask, now _this_ was a surprise.

"Who?" Doom asked.

"Two Avengers, actually. Iron Man and Hawkeye."

"Only those two?" Doom asked, a little disappointed. He was hoping to test Richards in this cosmic backdrop.

"Yes, and since you have the most experience dealing with them, I want you and your miscreants to handle Aran, and her little friends for me."

"Of course," Doom said. "Though I suggest you do not underestimate Stark."

"And you shouldn't underestimate Samus Aran. She took out a contemporary of yours a short time ago," Magius said. Doom glared at him. _Who?_ "She took out the renegade android Ultron on Zebes just over a year ago. She did it with Iron Man's help actually."

"So Aran and Iron Man have worked together before," Doom said. _Interesting,_ he thought, many questions running through his head.

"You have your task, Doom. You may go," Magius said with a wave of his hand.

Doom scowled at the gesture, and walked out of the room. When the door slammed behind him, he slammed his metal fist against the wall. Dr. Doom was not to be talked to like some petty henchman! Magius would pay for this disrespect, but that time will come later. Now he had to focus on reuniting with an old friend, Iron Man and his annoying sidekick Hawkeye. That lifted Doom's spirits slightly as he walked down the hallway again.

**Clint** Barton, the Avenger known as Hawkeye looked around the forest outskirts with a bored look on his face. The forest looked like any on Earth from his time period, as did the metal structure in front of him. Two large metal doors stood in front of Samus, Iron Man and himself, with a large logo of Gryphon Labs – a gryphon holding a beaker – painted on them. The paint was a little scrapped off.

Sure, the ride through time was a little exciting, but to a seasoned Avenger, it wasn't anything big. It just made his stomach lurch on more than one occasion was all. Clint Barton expected large fleets of ships and nice, shiny space stations here in the future. _Perhaps I've been watching too much 'Star Trek'_ he thought lazily.

"Gyllin, come on," Samus said irritably for the third time.

"Maybe he's not in," Iron Man said. Hawkeye stood behind the two armored heroes, and his gaze looked towards Samus' ship sitting on the edge of the trees. It was a sleek looking ship at least.

"Of course he's in," Samus said icily. "He has no where else to go."

"Samus?" Gyllin's sleepy voice came over the intercom. "Are you there?"

"Yes," Samus said with irritation. "I buzzed you three times already."

"Don't get snaggly with me!" Gyllin huffed. "I was just taking a nap was all. Is Stark with you?" His voice perked up.

"Yes, he is," Samus said. "Would you mind letting us in Gyllin?"

"Of course! Of course! Hold on half a moment!" Gyllin's raspy voice come over the intercom, and the metal doors slid open. Hawkeye followed Samus and Iron Man into the metal building.

The inside was dark, with only a few dim lights shining out in the blackness. Then, after a second, the room lit up in a blaze of lights, causing Hawkeye to recoil against it. Iron Man and Samus were unfazed due to their armor. Hawkeye grumbled to himself a bit.

"Sorry about that," an old man said as he walked up to the three heroes. Gyllin was a short, old man with thinning hair. He leaned on a wooden staff topped with a metal gryphon head. "I forgot that I turned all the lights out. Sorry about the mess."

"I'm used to it," Samus said dryly as Hawkeye looked around the place. He whistled as he saw the piles of clutter lying around the building. Hunks of metal, failed inventions, piles of food and garbage littered the floor.

"Looks kinda like my place," Hawkeye said.

"Yeah, the interior decorator of this place needs to be fired," Iron Man replied.

"And who might you be to make such rude comments about my place?" Gyllin said with a scowl. The he squinted in the light. "Hmph. Iron Man. He cast a quick glance towards Samus. I thought you said that Stark was with you."

"He is," Samus said, indicating Iron Man.

"Oh, sorry," Iron Man said as he reomoved his mask, revealing the youthful face of Tony Stark. Gyllin's eyes widened.

"_You_ are Iron Man Mr. Stark!?" Gyllin practically jumped up and down. "I guess it shouldn't be a surprise considering what the history records and Samus inform me." He paused. "Oh, how rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself, I am." Gyllin extended his hand.

"Gyllin," Tony concluded for him with a smile as he shook Gyllin's hand firmly. "Samus speaks very highly of you."

"Does she?" Gyllin arched an eyebrow towards Samus, who just shrugged. Gyllin then looked passed Iron Man towards Hawkeye. "And you would be Hawkeye, the records have been most interesting on you, and it is an honor to have two Avengers here in person!" He extended a hand towards Hawkeye, who shook it readily.

"A pleasure," Hawkeye said. _The have historical records of us? Interesting…_

"Now that we have gotten over the formalities," Samus said. "Let us take care of business. Now, Gyllin, what did you manage to dig up?"

"Unfortunately, nothing much. Information surround the Heart is sketchy at best. I have only uncovered a series of words, Kyliska ta Lekya, and there is a great sense of dread surrounding them," Gyllin said. "Whatever it is you have gotten us into Miss Aran, I am afraid it is a doozy."


	3. Chapter 3 Heaven and Earth

Chapter III: Heaven and Earth

Samus rubbed her tired eyes as she poured over the files Gyllin pulled up on the Heart. _Kyliska ta Lekya. What do they mean?_ She left her armor standing next to a pile of junk near the main computer terminal and sat in her black jumpsuit, staring at the computer monitor. The strange words just burned into her skull. She looked over her shoulder. Tony's Iron Man armor stood only a few feet from her own now. Samus chewed her lip nervously.

"Anything?" Gyllin's voice made her jump a bit.

"Gyllin," Samus said dryly. "No, nothing. The same old stuff over and over again."

"Well, then, that is all we have," Gyllin said with a grunt. "We will have to go after the Heart soon."

"I know," Samus said. "If only I knew where it was."

"Oh, come on, you should have a few ideas. You tangle with all sorts of low lives in the universe," Gyllin said.

"Yeah, but none capable of what happened," Samus closed her eyes. "I mean, how does _anyone_ go back in time and steal a device from a room full of people without anyone knowing? It defies all logic, and is well beyond anyone I can think of."

"Then you need to rest," Gyllin said. "Your friends have already settled in. Why don't you talk to them a bit and, please, try to sleep."

"I will," Samus said softly. "And thank you, Gyllin."

"For what?" He arched an eyebrow at her. A smile crept on Samus' lips.

"For restraining yourself in front of Tony earlier. I know how much meeting him means to you."

"Yeah, well," Gyllin rubbed his head nervously. "I'm sure… he gets all sorts of admiration from his own time. I'm sure he wouldn't want some old crackpot fawning all over him like a school girl."

"Talk to him," Samus said. "I think he'd appetite it."

"You think so?" Gyllin asked, a glint in his eyes.

"Positive," Samus said with a warm smile.

"**Anything?**" Clint asked Tony as he lay on a small cot in a cramped room. He still wore his Hawkeye costume, but without the mask. Tony wore the suit that he wore under he Iron Man armor – the same one he wore to the summit. He was looking at a small handheld computer with an intent look on his face.

"Nothing," Tony said. _Nothing, how can there be NOTHING!?_ He thought. "How can there not be any records of the Vulcan's Heart anywhere? It is a ground breaking device!" Tony got up and started pacing. "Does it not succeed? Do _any_ of my inventions succeed?"

"Your armor seems to do well judging by your lady-friend's" Clint said.

"She's not my 'lady-friend'," Tony said.

"Whatever," Clint said. "Anyway, don't worry about it. I mean, the Heart was stolen, so wouldn't it make sense that it won't exist in the history records? I'm not an expert on time travel or anything, but it makes sense to me."

"Yeah, it does," Tony said with a sigh. "I just want to be remembered for something other than the armor, for something other than a weapon. The Heart was my best chance for that."

"Tony," Clint said. "You are a brilliant inventor, you'll come up with something. I have faith in ya."

"Thank you, Clint," Tony said as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair.

"Hey, I just thought of something," Clint said, sitting up in his cot. "Samus and Gyllin both mentioned hearing about us in the records. Maybe we can read up on ourselves. See what we accomplish and stuff. Maybe you'll see that you'll be remembered for some great invention."

"Nice thought Clint," Tony said. "But it has been my philosophy not to mess with time. I would rather not know my own fate." He looked up and saw Samus standing in the doorway, staring at the two of them. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Suit yourself," Clint said as he stood up. "I would like to know something about the impact I have on the future. Heck, maybe I have a monument somewhere! Well, I will leave you two be," he said, patting Tony on the shoulder, and walked towards the door. He winked at Samus, who just rolled her eyes.

"Is he always that obnoxious?" Samus asked.

"Not all the time," Tony said with a wry smile. "Clint's a good guy when you give him the chance."

"I'll take your word for it," Samus said, sitting down next to Tony. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Tony said, putting down the computer.

"You do make a difference, Tony," Samus said, picking up the computer. "You do not have to worry about that. Your friend, Hawkeye is even mentioned prominently." She looked at Tony. "He does have a monument that was constructed shortly after his death, but don't tell him – it'll only inflate his ego."

"I won't," Tony said. "His death?" His brows knitted. _When? Where_? He thought.

"I don't want to say any more on it," Samus said. "Other than it is probably sooner than he would like."

"I won't pry then," Tony said.

"Come on, Tony, cheer up," Samus said. "We'll get the Heart back."

"I know," Tony said. "It _really _is good to see you again."

"I missed you," Samus said, leaning closer towards Tony.

"I missed you, too," Tony said, leaning closer to Samus. Their lips were about to touch, when:

"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark!" Gyllin said, running into the room, his arms filled with rolled up pieces of paper and bits of gadgets. His eyes lit up like a boy who wanted to show everyone his new toy. "I had some old plans and inventions sitting around, and I wanted to show them to you – Samus said it was all right – and I was hoping that you could spare a moment?"

Samus and Tony both sighed, and looked at each other.

"Go," Samus said. "He's been looking forward to this for a long time."

"Okay," he whispered to Samus. He then stood up. "Lead the way, Gyllin. And it's Tony."

"All right Tony!" Gyllin said in his raspy voice, as he led Tony to some other corner of the lab.

"Good luck, Tony," Samus said to herself as she chewed her lip. She walked back to the main computer room, only to find Clint looking up some info on the Avengers on it.

"Can you believe the press that people like Thor and Cap get? Amazing," he said as Samus walked up. "I mean, the people act like they never touched dirt or something. Not like Hank Pym or some of the other guys I've served with."

"You shouldn't pry into your future," Samus said.

"I wasn't prying," Clint said. "Much," he added with a wry grin. "How do I die?" His voice was serious all of a sudden.

"I can't tell you," Samus said.

"Why not?" He asked.

"It wouldn't be right to do so, it would disrupt the timeline and all," she said. "Now, move over, I am going to try something."

"What?"

"Call it a flash of insight," Samus said as she started typing.

"So, uh," Clint started. "How close are you and Tony? I mean, are you friends, close friends, or _really_ close friends, if you know what you mean."

"No, I don't know what you mean," Samus said sarcastically. "Explain it to me, please."

"Shhessh, you're as fun to talk to as a lecture from Cap," Clint said.

"You," Samus said firmly. "Are distracting me, and if you want to live to go _back_ to your own time period, it would be in your best interest to shut up."

"Wouldn't that disrupt the timeline?" Clint asked with a smirk. Samus glared at him. "Sorry, I'll be quiet now."

After a few minutes of typing, Samus' eyes widened.

"Look at this," she said in a whisper to Clint.

"What is this?" He asked with a puzzled expression.

"I don't know, but it is tied into Kyliska ta Lekya, whatever that is," Samus said. "Go get Tony and Gyllin." Clint nodded and ran off. Within the minute, all three came back with confused looks on their faces.

"What have you found?" Tony asked.

"Something about a 'Chosen One'," Samus said. "About a person of intense spiritual energy who has a direct connection to this Kyliska ta Lekya. It says here that the Chosen is the key to the secrets of this being."

"Is there any more?" Tony asked.

"Nothing," Samus said. "Only coordinates."

"To where?" Clint asked.

"An unknown planet," Samus said. "Here," she pointed to a small planted on the computer screen.

"That is outside of Federation space," Gyllin scoffed. "And therefore, an underdeveloped planet."

"But that is where our 'Chosen' is," Samus said.

"How did you find this?" Gyllin asked. "I found nothing on this 'Chosen' nonsense."

"A little voice in my head told me," Samus said seriously.

"My little voices tell me to burn things," Gyllin said sarcastically. "But you don't see me obeying them."

"Tony, Clint," Samus said, ignoring Gyllin. "We're going on a field trip."

"Sounds good," Tony said.

**He** lay on a soft bed with his eyes shut. The wounds on his torso still burned, and his bones ached. Plus, his head still throbbed with pain. He groaned as he remembered the last images before he blacked out. Images of the short, thin girl dressed in a black suit, wielding two thin blades. She moved so fast, faster than him, and parried his every blow. She mocked him with her silence as she slashed him.

The last thing he saw was her foot connecting with his face. He groaned again, wondering how he ended up on this soft, comfortable bed. Then, it hit him: the mission. What of the mission? He opened his eyes quickly, and saw an earthy blur around him, and the unfocused shape of a figure standing over him.

"…stay still," a female's voice said. "You need to stay in bed, please don't get up." It was a soft voice. He did as the voice said, because his head still throbbed. Absently, he brushed his hand through his spiky blonde hair, his hand passing over the place where the foot connected.

He opened his eyes again, and the figure above him came into focus. It was a young woman with pale skin and green hair. She wore a pink dress, and a pink ribbon sat in her hair.

"Where am I?" He asked.

"In an orphanage on the southern continent," the woman said. "You suffered some nasty injuries back there. My name is Terra. What is yours?"

"Cloud, Cloud Strife," the figure said, grimacing. "Why am I here?"

"The kids I look after found you in a field near here in pretty bad condition and brought you back here."

Cloud's hand dropped to the side of the bed, and his eyes widened. Frantically, he moved his hand across the floor. _Where was it?_

"My sword," Cloud said. "Where is it?"

"Here," Terra motioned. Cloud looked over to the wall opposite the bed and saw his sword standing in a pile of his armor. It was then that he realized he was out of his armor. Timidly, he peeked under the sheets. Terra laughed.

"We took your armor off, but we kept your clothes on. Don't worry," she said.

Cloud began to settle down. He closed his eyes.

"Terra," he began. "I am here looking for someone."

"Who?" Terra asked.

"I don't know exactly," Cloud said. "All I know is that they are called the 'Chosen One'." Terra's expression grew bleak, and she stood up, backing slowly away from Cloud.

"I do not know this person," Terra said. "But I will do my best to make sure you are fit enough to travel again."

"I must go then," Cloud said, getting up. Immediately, he regretted that mistake, as his head swam, and body ached after that. He felt like vomiting, but held it back. He was not wearing a shirt, and his torso was wrapped in bloody bandages.

"No!" Terra said, running up to him. Cloud fell back into bead, holding his head in one hand. "You must rest. Sit down. Please."

"Mama, mama!" a small boy of seven shouted, running into the room.

"Keep your voice down, Charles," Terra said. "Cloud is recovering."

"But, mama, there are some people here saying they want to talk to someone. They look really scary!"

"All right," Terra sighed and walked off towards the door.

**The** door was already opened when Terra approached it. Nervously, she fiddled with the ribbon in her hair. When she approached the opened door, her stomach leapt a bit as she stared at the three figures standing just outside the door. Terra swallowed hard, and kept a firm face. She didn't really feel like entertaining this _type_ of company right now.

Two of the figures were clad in some strange looking armor. _Probably Magi-tech design, _Terra thought. _Relics of Kefka and his Empire._ Each suit of armor was colored the same, a red and gold motif, though the fundamental design of each was different. The one standing in front was wearing a more bulky suit of armor with large shoulder plates and a strange looking visor. The right arm had a gun attached to it.

The second, standing slightly behind the first was a slender, more sleek design. Its helmet was more like a face, with eyeholes and a mouth of sorts, though the gold mask itself was expressionless. This one had no visible weapons. Terra then saw the third figure, and relaxed a bit. He was only wearing a strange purple costume with a purple mask instead of some intimidating piece of hardware. This one was leaning on a longbow. Outside, the sun was shining, and a gentle breeze rustled through the landscape.

"Can I help you?" Terra asked the purple clad figure, feeling most comfortable talking to him.

"Why yes you can pretty lady," he responded.

"We don't want to waste any of your time, miss," the lead figure said, cutting off the purple clad archer. "But we are looking for someone. My name is Samus Aran. I am an intergalactic bounty hunter, and these are my partners, Iron Man," Iron Man nodded and said a quick 'hello'. "And Hawkeye,"

"Pleasure, ma'am," Hawkeye said with a bow.

"Ignore him" Samus said. Terra could not help but to smile slightly.

"My name is Terra," Terra said. "I only run this orphanage, and I do not know how much help I can be to people such as you. You said you were bounty hunters from Intergalactica? I've never heard of that place."

"Uh," Samus paused.

"Let me," she heard the one called Iron Man answer. "Miss Terra, we are from a distant land, and we are looking for someone." She stared at his mask, trying to imagine the face behind it. _If there even is a face_ she thought. She felt nervous, her muscles clenching. _What do they _want She thought.

"Who?" Terra managed.

"Someone called the 'Chosen One'," Iron Man said. "We have information that they are here somewhere."

"You are the second group of people asking about the Chosen One," Terra said.

All three figures stared at each other.

"Who else asked," Samus asked briskly.

"A swordsman with spiky blonde hair. We found him injured not too far from here. He is resting inside," Terra said, staring at the sky, trying to relax herself.

"Can we see him?" Iron Man asked.

"He.. he is injured," Terra said. "I don't think it would be good for you to disturb him. I do not know of this 'Chosen One' you speak of, so please go. I have many things to do today. You can try Thamassa for your answer; they are a town of scholars to the east of here. You will need to cross an ocean, though."

"Thank you for your time, miss," Iron Man said as the door shutting in his face cut him off.

Terra put her back against the closed door, and slouched to the ground. _Not again. Not anymore._ She thought. _Never again. I made a promise._

"**Well** that was as useful as a brain in a space pirate," Samus said as the door closed.

"She seemed frazzled, Samus," Iron Man said. "I told you it would have been better to leave the armor in the ship." Samus was silent for a moment. Outside the small cabin that was the orphanage, the wind rustled gently over the rolling grass hills around them and across the glassy surface of the small lake.

"I just don't trust this place enough to have left the armor behind," Samus said.

"As you shouldn't," a voice said from over one of the hills. Emerging on the hilltop were four figures. One was tall, wearing a light suit of battered body armor, twirling a strange looking gun on his right fingers. Two purple lenses replaced his eyes. The figure to his right was a small, slender girl in an expensive black suit and a bowler hat. In each of her hands was a long, thin blade.

Iron Man's eyes went wide at the sight of the next two figures, and a quick glance towards Hawkeye showed that he mirrored Iron Man's surprise. The figure on the gunslinger's left was a slender, and very attractive blonde woman in a green gown, while the figure behind the three towered above them. He wore a green shirt with a purple bandanna covering his face. His large hands firmly grasped a large crowbar. Many reasons ran through Iron Man's head as he tried to fathom why the Enchantress and Wrecker were standing side by side with these two strangers.

"Syndicate members," Samus spat. "I should have guessed."

"Now, now, Miss Aran," the lead figure said, a wide, sadistic grin appearing on his face. "Is that any way to talk to us? We are just here to chat," he paused, his grin broadening even more, the light glinting off of his purple lenses, and the wind rustling through his wild hair. He stooped twirling his gun, and pointed it at Samus. "About the Chosen."


	4. Chapter 4 Interrupted Utopia

Chapter IV: Interrupted Utopia

"We are here to talk about the Chosen," the man with the gun said as he pointed the weapon at Samus. The maniacal look on his face was accentuated from the expressionless purple lenses that replaced his eyes. "Now Miss Aran, please tell your friends to stand aside, and let us talk to the nice lady."

"You are one cocky son of a bitch, Wildfire," Samus said, pointing her gun arm at Wildfire as he doubled over in laughter. Iron Man readied his repulsers, and Hawkeye notched an arrow.

"Last time I checked, Miss Aran, we outnumber you four to three."

"Yes, Iron Man," Enchantress said in a soothing voice. "Go home."

"Or I'll send you home," Wrecker said. "In pieces."

"Original," Hawkeye said. "Your mommy tell you to say that?"

Wrecker growled, while Enchantress just smirked.

"What about you," Iron Man asked the girl in black, her jet black hair tied behind her in a bun from under the hat. "You have some banter you'd like to toss into the mix?"

"She doesn't talk much, tin man," Wildfire said. "Hence why we at the Syndicate call her Silence. Now about letting us pass.."

"I'm afraid we have you outnumbered," Samus said. All four figures, except for Silence, opposing them laughed. Samus smiled from under her helmet. "I have upgraded my weaponry a bit, and this is a plasma cannon," Samus said, pointing her gun arm to Wrecker. "Enough to knock you down, big boy."

"I think," Iron Man said. "What Samus is trying to say is that you are outclassed here. If you want to take the girl, you are going to have to get through us first."

"Ditto," Hawkeye said.

Wildfire growled, and then laughed maniacally, twirling his gun.

"Very well, let's get this over with, shall we?" He said with a flamboyant bow, his wild, gray-streaked black hair cascading over his face.

Iron Man took off quickly, kicking his boot jets into gear, but Wildfire also acted quickly. Just as Iron Man barely flew three feet, Wildfire steadied his gun, and with one precise shot, took out Iron Man's left boot jet, sending him crashing into the ground. That is when it started.

"Game on!" Wildfire said.

"Game over," Samus said, firing her plasma beam at Wildfire. He laughed as he dove out of the way, but the plasma beam nicked him enough to send him flying a few feet with a grunt.

**Iron Man's** head swam from the impact. He read his tactical readout and sighed in frustration as he saw that both jets were out, not just the left one. Putting his hands on the ground, he worked to pull himself up when he was forcibly sent crashing back to the ground.

"You ain't getting up, Iron Man," Wrecker's voice came from above him. "I'm goin' to give you a nice long, dirt nap." Wrecker's large form towered over Iron Man. He raised the massive crowbar over his head, and was about to bring it crashing down on Iron Man when an arrow penetrated his right shoulder. Wrecker grunted, but held onto the crowbar.

"Hey big boy," Hawkeye's voice rang out. "You forget that I have arrows that can pierce tour ugly hide?"

Iron Man looked over to Hawkeye, and saw him reading another arrow. His eyes widened as he saw the girl, Silence, approaching him from behind, both blades drawn.

"Hawkeye, duck!" Iron Man yelled as he let loose a repulser blast that knocked Silence back. Even then she didn't make a sound.

"Thanks Shellhead!" Hawkeye said, shifting his target back to Wrecker.

A boot came crashing down on Iron Man's head, causing his head to ring. _This is getting old_ he thought. Wrecker stood on him, raising the crowbar again. This time, it was a missile that hit him. He recoiled slightly.

"You get away from him, ass-hole," Samus said. _Samus?_ Iron Man thought. A bright flash erupted from behind her.

"Oh, afraid that I'll hurt your precious Iron Man," Wrecker said in a teasing voice.

"No, I'm afraid that he'll hurt you before I'd get a chance to," Samus said. Iron Man took his cue, and aimed blindly upwards with both repulsers and fired. Wrecker grunted, and stepped back. Iron Man quickly got up.

"Thanks," Iron Man said.

"Don't mention it," Samus said. Wrecker recovered from the blast, and was ready to charge at the pair. "And you," Samus said, aiming her gun at him. "Stay where you are." She fired her ice beam at his legs, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"You okay?" Samus asked.

"I can't move very well," Iron Man said, "but the weapons are all online."

"Good enough," Samus said as Wrecker let out a yell, and broke his legs out of their icy prison. He charged forward. "Tony, look out!" Samus cried instinctively as Wrecker knocked him out of the way with his crow bar. Samus fired a few blasts of power beam into him before he reached her.

"You metal heads are getting on my nerves, and are gonna get a beatin'!" Wrecker said, swinging wildly. _Have to keep him away from Tony_, Samus thought.

"You have to catch me first, bright boy," Samus said, rolling up into her morph ball, and tried to roll away. But Wrecker was quicker than she guessed.

"Fore!" Wrecker yelled, and hit her hard with his crowbar into a small rocky outcropping. She unfurled herself, and grimaced.

"That hurt, you bastard," she said through gritted teeth. "Time for the kit gloves to come off."

**Hawkeye** kept his arrows trained on Wrecker, but Samus and Iron Man kept jeopardizing his shot. _Come on Tony. If I miss, these arrows _will_ hurt_, he thought. A flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye caused him to divert his attention. Wildfire was cresting in a slow stagger, his gun aimed and steady at Samus' back.

"Don't think so," Hawkeye said as he fired the arrow at Wildfire. Wildfire quickly turned and shot the arrow out of midair. Hawkeye's eyes widened.

"You'll have to do better than that, boy," Wildfire said. "This isn't some circus side show. Lights out." He aimed the gun at Hawkeye, who quickly notched and fired a flash arrow towards Wildfire while diving behind some rocks. The flash arrow went off before Wildfire's shot, and the gunman shot wide, narrowly missing Hawkeye's feet.

"That was close, too close," Hawkeye said. He caught his breath for a moment, and readied an arrow, and looked over the rocks. He saw Wrecker sling Samus into another pile of rocks, and he aimed his shot before the large man could reach Iron Man. Wildfire was still reeling from the flash arrow.

A sound brought him back to his reality, however. Hawkeye glanced over his shoulder and saw a black shape moving quickly behind him. He tried to move his bow behind him, but a flash of steel and the clang of metal interrupted him.

Right behind him, a figure wearing black plated armor and wielding a large sword was standing with his back towards Hawkeye. The twin blades of Silence were parried by this newcomer's sword. Hawkeye glanced strangely at his spiky blond hair.

"Rematch," the blond swordsman said as he pushed Silence to the ground. Silence back off for a bit, and stared at the pair of them, for Hawkeye now had an arrow trained on her as well.

"Thanks for the save," Hawkeye said, breathing hard.

"No problem," the warrior said.

"My name's Hawkeye," Hawkeye said. "You'll excuse me if I don't shake your hand."

"Cloud Strife," the warrior said, his sword at the ready. "Pleasure to meet you."

**Samus** stood up, reading her plasma beam, and was ready to aim it at Wrecker, but saw that Iron Man was doing a good job of fending him off. Wrecker swung at Iron Man, who, in return pummeled Wrecker with his metal fists and the occasional short burst repulser blast. That is when she saw Wildfire.

"So the worm came back, huh?" Samus said to herself, as she aimed at Wildfire. He rubbed his lenses as though he were a blind man. "Guess your optical implants aren't as good as you boast," Samus said with a smile.

"You don't want to do that," a soft, soothing, feminine voice came from behind her. "He is your friend."

"My friend?" Samus said, her mind clouding over. Enchantress stood behind Samus, putting a hand on her left shoulder.

"Iron Man is such a bad man, don't you want to hurt him?" Enchantress' voice flowed over Samus' consciousness like an ebb tide.

"Iron Man is a bad man?" Samus said.

"A very, very, bad man," Enchantress said. "He wants to hurt me. And you."

"He will not," Samus growled, aiming her gun at Iron Man. The armored Avenger had just knocked Wrecker back a hundred yards with a powered repulser blast. "The bad man must go down," Samus said, and fired.

**Iron Man** watched Wrecker fly back, and let out a sigh of relief. Without his normal maneuverability, his armor had taken quite a beating there. The power gage in his tactical display was now yellow. _That blast had taken up too much power_ he thought. _What the!?_ His warning light flashed for a split second before Samus' plasma blast hit him in the side.

He grunted as he rolled across the grass. When he stopped, he propped himself up to see Samus walking towards him with her gun leveled at him. In the background, he saw Enchantress smirking. _This is going to hurt…_ Iron Man thought as he quickly stood up.

"You will not hurt me Iron Man!" Samus yelled at him, firing another plasma volley at him. Iron Man barely dodged. _Can't take many hits from that._ Iron Man grimaced. _This is bad. I could barely keep up with her on _full _power._ He thought, remembering their first encounter a year ago at Stark Enterprises.

"Samus," he said, trying to snap her out of Enchantress' snare. "I am not your enemy."

"Liar," She fired a missile square into his chest. He stood his ground. Barely.

"Samus!" Iron Man said, louder. "Listen to me! Enchantress is playing with your mind! Snap out of it!" Samus continued to walk forward, and fired again. This shot grazed Iron Man's head. "Samus, snap out of it for me!" She hesitated for a brief moment.

"What the?" Hawkeye said as he looked over his shoulder to see Samus firing on Iron Man. "Holy crap!" He yelled. "This isn't good."

"What?" Cloud asked, holding still in his face off with Silence.

"Samus and Iron Man are having a very violent lover's spat," Hawkeye said.

"Not a good time, don't you think?" Cloud asked.

"Not at all," he said as he looked around. He saw the familiar slender blond form of Enchantress standing by the hill. "Bingo," he said to himself. He brought his bow around, and aimed at Enchantress.

A flurry of motion erupted behind him as Silence leapt into action, Cloud parrying her twin blades. Hawkeye was about to bring his bow around when he heard Tony's voice over the din of metal.

"Hawkeye, I could use some help here," he yelled.

"Way ahead of ya Shellhead!" Hawkeye yelled.

"Do it," Cloud said, parrying Silence's blades. It was obvious to Hawkeye that the swordsman's stamina was fading. "I'll be fine." Hawkeye just nodded, and fired. The blunt arrow flew forward, and clocked Enchantress upside the head.

**It** was like a fog being lifted after a long night in Samus' mind. She was all of a sudden aware of herself again, the soothing little voice inside her head was now gone. In front of her, Iron Man lay on the ground, staring at her. Her gun arm was trained on him. Shocked, she let it fall to her side.

"Tony," she whispered. "What did I do?"

"Don't worry about it," Tony said, breathing heavily.

"Yeah, worry about this," Wildfire's voice rang out amidst laughter as a shot hit Samus in the torso.

"Damn it!" Samus said. "He hit my power supply, the bastard!"

"How much time?" Iron Man asked.

"Not much," Samus grimaced.

"Not good," Iron Man said. Samus shook her head.

**Hawkeye** took aim at Wildfire after he took his shot at Samus. Behind him, Cloud went on the offensive against Silence, but she parried his swings, and dodged out of the way of his slashes. Cloud was buckling, and Hawkeye could see it. He shut out the dance of steel from behind him and concentrated on Wildfire. A heavy fist, however, knocked him on his side. He landed with a grunt.

He looked up, and saw Wrecker standing with his back towards him, swinging his crowbar in tandem with Silence's swords at Cloud. The spiky haired warrior was tiring, his breathing labored. Wrecker then ended it by grabbing Cloud by the throat, and lifting him off of his feet. Cloud's sword fell on the ground.

**"It is over!"** Wildfire laughed. "And the day is ours!"

Wrecker deposited Cloud's limp form on the ground next to Hawkeye and Iron Man. Samus was struggling to keep herself upright, and Hawkeye watched Cloud's labored breathing.

"Seen worse before, eh Shellhead?" Hawkeye said.

"Not much," Iron Man said.

"I still have enough power to go down in a blaze of glory," Samus said.

The four villains encircled the heroes, jeering at them.

"That's the least we can do," Hawkeye said.

"Give them something to remember us by," Iron Man added.

"Leave them alone!!" A booming voice echoed, and a wave of energy washed over the eight figures, knocking Wrecker, Enchantress, Wildfire, and Silence down, while leaving Cloud, Iron Man, Samus, and Hawkeye unscathed.

"What the heck was that!?" Iron Man exclaimed.

"Wowee," Hawkeye said.

"Damn it!" Wildfire said, getting up. "Fall back. Don't think you've seen the last of us, Miss Aran," he said with a bow as the four villains ran off.

"Original," Samus said wryly.

"Are you all right?" Terra asked, running up to them. She glowed with a faint pink aura.

"Was that you?" Iron Man asked. Terra just nodded.

"I am afraid that I am the Chosen One you seek," Terra said heavily. "Please, come inside and talk."

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass," Samus said. "If I don't make it back to the ship and recharge ASAP, I'll be more useless than a decoration. I trust you can do an adequate job of not messing things up Iron Man?"

"I'll do my best ma'am," he said with a mock salute.

"Not you too," she said shaking her head. "Anyway, meet me back at the ship when you're done."

"Later," Iron Man said as Samus ran off.

"Come on, get up," Hawkeye said, helping Cloud to his feet.

"What happened," Cloud asked.

"I'll explain later," Hawkeye said, and the three of them followed Terra back inside.

**Inside,** Terra poured some tea into cups for each of the three heroes as they sat around simple, round table. The warm liquid steamed comfortably in front of Cloud, and he took the plain, white cup, and drank the warm liquid deeply, letting the warmth permeate throughout his body. Hawkeye, and Iron Man, now unmasked, soon followed suit.

"I am truly sorry about this," Terra said as she finished pouring the tea, and sat down. "I just wasn't ready to do this just yet."

"Understandable," Cloud said slowly. "But sometimes we have to face our destiny even if we are not ready for it."

"I was just hoping that it wouldn't happen, that it would somehow pass me by," Terra said slowly.

"When did you find out about this?" Iron Man asked.

"About two years ago, after we defeated Kefka and his Empire. I had a vision of people from some distant land, of a golden box, and some evil greater than Kefka. More of a feeling than an actual manifestation, however," Terra said. "I wish I could be more helpful, Iron Man."

"Tony. My name is really Tony Stark, and it is all right, Terra," Tony said.

"Where we come from," Hawkeye said. "Heroes have to use different ID's to help protect the ones we care about. My name is Clint, by the way."

"Okay Tony, Clint," Terra said. "What now?"

"You have to come with us, Terra," Tony said, knotting his fingers. "Not only to help us find the Heart, but also for your own protection." He paused. ""You are no longer safe here. You have to trust us."

"I know," Terra said. "I just hoped for a quiet life, free from adventures."

"We don't always get that," Tony said with a sigh. "It is part of what we do, though, and we must do it." He fixed Terra's gaze. "We will protect you, I swear to that."

"Then I am coming with you," Cloud said, setting down his cup. "I was sent by people on my world to find the Chosen and protect her, whatever the cost."

"Cloud," Terra said. "You are in no condition to fight."

"I have fared worse," he said bluntly. "I will not burden you."

"He's right, Tony," Clint said. "He held his own back there, despite the wounds. I think he'll be useful to have around."

Tony sighed.

"I'll just have to break the bad news to Samus that her ship will be a little crowded for the time being."

Terra and Clint smiled broadly, while Cloud managed a faint smile.

"**I can't** believe I let you talk me into bringing both of them," Samus said shaking her head as she piloted the ship through the reaches of space. "I've never had this many people on here before."

"There is a first time for everything," Tony said. The interior of the ship was dark, except for the various lights twinkling on the ship's control panels. Samus wore her black jumpsuit, while Tony had discarded his Iron Man armor for the time being for a gray jumpsuit provided by Samus. "Your suit powered up yet?"

"Almost. I barely got to the ship before it crapped out on me," Samus said, intent on her piloting. "I'm going to crease that bastard Wildfire's head next time we meet."

"So who were those guys back there?" Tony asked.

"They are from the Syndicate," Samus replied. "A group of criminals and terrorists who believe they can change mankind through acts of destruction. It is an intricate organization all leading to a man called Magius."

"What's he like?" Tony asked.

"Rumors say he is some sort of mystic. I don't really believe it, though," Samus said with a shrug. "I've been hired to take out Syndicate thugs before – including Wildfire – but it seems that no one can dent their organization. I am not surprised to find their dirty hands in this. How about the other two? Old friends of yours?"  
"Wrecker and Enchantress go way back," Tony said sarcastically. "They both, at some point or another, were part of a villain team called the Masters of Evil, whose goals are much like the Syndicate's – to cause widespread destruction. There is one thing that puzzles me however."

"What?" Samus asked.

"Neither Enchantress nor Wrecker are considered types who take the initiative," Tony said.

"What's important about that?"

"It means there is someone else from my time period here pulling the strings," Tony said. "I have a few ideas who, and none of them are pleasant."

"Yeah," Samus said. "The whole situation is one big mess, and it has me really wound up."

"Is that why you're flying manually?" Tony asked.

"It helps me to relax," Samus said, as she did a barrel role, followed by a loop, a faint smile on her lips.

"**It is** so beautiful," Terra said, staring out of the small window. She had discarded her dress for a pink tunic with a pair of leggings. It felt weird for her to be wearing her old traveler's clothes again. She had almost gotten rid of them, and she was glad now that she didn't

"What is?" Cloud's voice came from behind her.

"Space, the stars, everything," Terra said, glancing over her shoulder. "Don't you agree?"

"Yeah," Cloud said.

"What's wrong?" Terra asked.

"Nothing."

Terra sighed and the two remained silent for a while. The door opened, and Hawkeye poked his head in.

"You two all right."

"Yes," both of them said.

"All right, I'll be in the other room getting some shut eye," Hawkeye said. "Go holler at Samus and Tony if you need anything."

"Thank you, Clint," Terra said.

"No prob," he said as the door shut with a hiss.

Terra went back to staring at the stars. Another silence.

"After we defeated Kefka," Terra said to break the silence. "I was unsure of what to feel. Of course I felt glad, but I also felt empty. Unlike my companions, I had nothing left to fall back on." She sighed. "In fact, part of me died that day. The part of me that had any concept of fulfillment and meaning.

"I searched for a while within myself for that meaning," Terra said in a thick voice, not really caring if Cloud was listening or not. "Then Iwent back to the orphanage and found my meaning. I found laughter, joy, and peace. I wanted to stay there forever, and forget the visions I had the day we beat Kefka. I had hoped that it would pass me by, that fate would forget me and I could go on living in my comfortable warmth."

A short pause.

"I spent a good portion of my life," Cloud said. "Thinking that I was someone else. I lived someone else's life. I had lived a lie. When I found that out, my life lost all meaning. I would have wasted away if it weren't for my friends, one in particular. However, I learned to pick up the shattered pieces of life and went on.

"All my life," he continued. "I just wanted the strength to protect my friends, and when I found out that my training was a lie, I felt like couldn't do that. After my friends helped me to start recovering, I found out that a warrior's real strength lies within, that the strength to protect my friends was inside me the whole time." He paused, and looked at Terra. "I guess we have more in common then we thought," Cloud said with a smile. Terra reached out, and touched his hand gently, a faint smile on her lips. "I will protect you."

"I know," she said.

"**Tony**," Samus said. "I want to apologize for what happened back there."

"What?" Tony said. "You were under Enchantress' control, it was okay."

"No, it is not okay," Samus said harshly. "I could have killed you Tony. I would have killed you if I hadn't heard your voice, and I stopped. I couldn't bear that if really did kill you."

"Samus?" Tony asked.

"I like you too much to have that happen to you. There I said it," Samus said firmly. She was blushing softly in the dim light as she stared intently forward.

"I feel the same way," Tony said as he reached out for her hand. He grasped it gently, and she didn't pull away. "I thought about you a lot since we parted after Zebes. I only wanted to see you again, and here you are. Here we are, on another life or death mission."

"Yeah," Samus said. "We really should stop meeting like this," she smiled. Tony laughed.

"You know, it was actually Clint's arrow that snapped you out, I had nothing to do with it."

"Huh?" Samus looked confused.

"Clint's arrow clocked Enchantress in the head, which allowed you to regain control and not vaporize me. It was a good shot. You shouldn't be so harsh on him."

"I'll try," Samus said as the intercom light blinked on. She flipped the switch with an annoyed look on her face.

"Samus," Ridley hissed.

"Ridley. What do I owe this honor?" She said dryly.

"Funny," Ridley said. "I just contacted you to tell you to go to the Jenova Station."

"What's at Jenova?" Samus asked.

"Answers," Ridley said. "I assume you have the Chosen?"

"How do you know about that?" Samus asked.

"Why keep secrets, we are allies here, remember?"

"I remember," Samus said icily. "And yes, we have the Chosen."

"Good, then head to Jenova Station. We'll meet you there," Ridley said as the intercom buzzed off.

"Jenova's not that far," Samus muttered to herself as she altered course.

**Jenova** Station was a wreck. It was an upright cylindrical station with five spiky arms at its center. At the end of each arm was a landing pad for small crafts. A big docking bay for larger ships lay at either end of the cylinder. In its prime, it would have been an immaculate, sparkling station, but now it was a ghost.

Three of its arms were broken, and large hole lay in the side of the cylinder. Smaller holes dotted the rest of the station, revealing much of the underlying infrastructure. Debris orbited the station. Samus carefully guided her ship to one of the remaining arms, looking for signs of Ridley. Her irritation grew as she saw that they were the only ship there.

The ship landed gently in the bay, the metal doors closing overhead with the sound of straining metal. Samus waited for the bay to pressurize before she opened the hatch, and the five heroes stepped onto the floor of Jenova.

"Jenova Station," Cloud said with a shudder as he walked off. "I don't like this place."

"Besides the fact that it can fall apart at any minute, what's not to like?" Hawkeye said.

"I just have bad memories of the name 'Jenova'," Cloud said dryly.

"Come on," Samus said in an irritated tone. She and Tony were in their armor again. Tony's boot jets, however, were not fully operational yet. "I want to spend as little time here as possible."

"Agreed," Iron Man said.

Samus activated the door out of the bay, and stepped through. The others followed suit, and were greeted with a holographic projection of a man in his early thirties with short hair and a goatee. His hawk like nose featured prominently on his face.

"Welcome travelers!" The hologram started as it shimmered in and out. The hologram had a bluish tinge to it. "Welcome to Jenova Station, the World of Tomorrow! I am your host, Joseph Aluren, and I am also the founder of this station."

The five travelers walked onto a non-functioning conveyer belt that, in its prime, probably served to carry travelers through the hall. Instead, they walked along it, Samus taking point, and Hawkeye bringing up the rear.

"Jenova Station was built from my dreams," Aluren's hologram continued. "In order to share my dreams with all the people of the universe. Here, we are inventors and scientists," Tony's attention peaked at this part. "In order to build a world of peace, a Utopia if you will, for all people." The hologram prattled on with its mission statement.

"Guy sure likes to hear himself talk," Hawkeye said.

"He looks familiar somehow," Terra said in a hushed voice."

"We shouldn't be here," Cloud said.

"Now you're just wiggin' out," Hawkeye said. "Sit back and enjoy the ride."

They reached the end of the hall, and the hologram shut off. Samus pressed the door open button. Nothing happened. She pushed it again. Nothing. She grumbled to herself, and then motioned for everyone to step back. She pressed some buttons on her gun, and fired a super missile into the door, leaving a big hole instead of the metal doors.

Wordlessly, the five walked through the hole, and were bombarded with another hologram of Aluren.

"Welcome travelers to the main plaza area." In front of them was a large, multi-leveled, atrium showing the decay of age. Debris littered the whole place, and many of the doors were blocked. "Straight ahead are the guest quarters, to your left are the shops, to the right are the offices, and below you are the stairs to the lab."

"That's where we're going," Samus said.

"Why?" Iron Man asked.

"Call it a hunch," Samus said. "Plus, aren't you the least bit interested Tony?"

"A little," Tony said.

Samus walked down a still escalator, with Iron Man close behind and the others following suit. They walked by long dead plants in decayed planters, rotted food, and ruined bits of furniture towards a door marked 'lab'. It was, surprisingly, intact. Even more surprisingly, it opened on the first try.

The five walked into a dark room, and as soon as Hawkeye stepped through the door, it closed behind him, and dim lights lining the ceiling flickered on. The lab was immaculate except for strewn papers and the occasional covered device.

"Amazing," Tony said in a hushed whisper as he went from device to device. "How did this survive such devastation?"

"Better shielding perhaps?" Samus said, looking around, he gun arm ready.

"Look at this," Hawkeye said as he motioned the others to a small computer terminal labeled the 'Janus Project'. "What do you suppose the 'Janus Project' is?" He asked.

"Let's find out," Samus said as she pressed the button. Again, Aluren's hawk like visage appeared before them.

"This is the first log of what I have dubbed the 'Janus Project'. The Janus project is one of our many projects worked on here in the lab to promote peace and prosperity for all the coming generations. The Janus is actually a device capable of supplying infinite amounts of energy to large groups of people."

"What the?" Tony said in a shocked voice as the hologram rattle of the theories and technical specs of the device.

"It sounds just like the Vulcan's Heart," Hawkeye said in a hushed voice.

"What is going on here?" Tony asked.

"He gives me the chills," Terra said. "I think we should leave."

"I'm starting to agree with you guys," Hawkeye said as he looked around.

Samus poked around another terminal and activated another hologram of Aluren, shutting off the previous one.

"I am afraid that this may signal the end of Jenova," he said in a heavy voice. The others crowded around this one. "An ancient evil approaches Earth, and they want us to find a way to stop it. But this creature knows of us, he comes towards us to destroy us. I know how to stop it, but I do not want to do that. That is not my dream, my mission." The hologram ended. Wordlessly, Samus went to the next terminal.

"Those bastards in the Federation," Aluren continued with a pained expression. "They want me to use the Janus as a weapon. It can be used for that, but that was not its purpose. It is meant to create, not destroy. But He approaches. What choice do I have?" He paused. "If I do this, though, all I have worked for will be in vain. I will not be remembered in the annuals of history for a weapon!" The hologram yelled.

Tony stood there, frozen, as though he were looking at a mirror of himself. Another hologram.

"He is almost on top of us, and the Janus is ready. However, I am not sure if I am ready," Aluren said with a heavy voice. "I am not sure if my soul, my conscious will allow me to be strong in this. For those who find this after the fact, I apologize for not being clear earlier. The one who comes is Kyliska ta Lekya. It is a name used by the Space Pirates for this ancient evil," Samus liked her lips in anticipation while Iron Man's heart beat nervously. Hawkeye and Cloud shifted their weight constantly, while Terra stood there, with a fixed gaze. "But I prefer the name given to it a long time ago on Earth: the Devourer of Worlds. Galactus himself."


	5. Chapter 5 Spectre of the Past

Chapter V: Specter of the Past

"The one who comes is Kyliska ta Lekya. It is the name used by the Space Pirates for this ancient evil,"' Aluren's haggard hologram droned on. "But I prefer the name given to it a long time ago on Earth: the Devourer of Worlds. Galactus himself." The hologram fizzled out into static. All five heroes stood there in various levels of awe.

"I think that's it," Samus said, tinkering with another terminal.

"Galactus? Alive and in this time?" Hawkeye said in stunned disbelief.

"I am not surprised," Iron Man said. "He was, for all intensive purposes, a god."

"I know now!" Terra said suddenly. The others perked up at her exclamation. "I know what it is about Aluren that is so familiar."

"What?" Samus asked. Terra licked her lips.

"He was a member of the Empire's Magi-Tek research group. I recognize the face when I was being used by the Empire on my world."

"You sure?" Hawkeye said.

"Positive," Terra said. Cloud's eyes suddenly went wide.

"I also recognize him," the spiky haired warrior said. "He used to work for Shinra. In the Jenova research unit responsible for Sephiroth, and, ultimately, me."

"That explains why he chose the name'Jenova'," Samus said. "But how can a man like Aluren be in three places at once?"

"Maybe he wasn't," Terra said. "Call it a feeling, but I think that my world is out of sync with this timeline. Just looking around, I feel that our world was brought here for some purpose and that I, we, truly do not belong in the same time. Perhaps it is due to Aluren somehow."

"Sounds far-fetched," Iron Man said.

"I think her idea has merit," Cloud said. "I think my world is in a similar state. It _would_ explain Aluren's presence."

"But why?" Samus asked. "What stake would he have in your worlds?" Cloud just shrugged his shoulders.

"In both cases," Iron Man said. "He seemed to be into research, as he was here. Perhaps he needed something from each of the worlds to complete something, some task."

"The Janus," Samus said. "He spoke so prominently of it. It makes sense."

"I don't know," Hawkeye said. "Galactus, long dead scientist, time travel and alternate worlds, and an invention that mirrors the Vulcan's Heart. This trip keeps getting weirder and weirder."

"Maybe now," a voice from the shadows hissed. "You have an idea of what we are up against."

"Ridley," Samus said as the winged creature walked out from the shadows., Kraid was standing behind him.

"Sorry for being late," he hissed. "We had some, uh, _business_ to attend to."

"What do you know of this?" Samus asked.

"Only as much as you do," Ridley said. "That the Janus was a project of the late Joseph Aluren, and that it somehow ties into the Heart."

"They function identically," Iron Man said. "If I could see the Janus I could probably try to figure out why the Syndicate wants it."

"I am afraid that the Janus is already in Syndicate hands," Ridley said.

"What?" Samus exclaimed.

"We have been tracking the Syndicate for some time," Ridley hissed. "We are trying to figure out what they are planning on doing with the Janus and the Heart."

"And what of the Chosen?" Cloud asked. "What is her role in this?"

"We," Ridley paused. "Were hoping you could tell us." He looked around and spotted Terra. He flew over in a short burst and stopped in front of her. Terra just stood still, watching him. "So this is the Chosen," he said. "So delicate," he ran a claw down her cheek gently. Terra flinched a bit. "What is your name?"

"Terra," she said confidently. "And yours?"

"My name is Ridley, and this behind me is Kraid," Ridley said as Kraid bellowed softly. "We are allies."

"Temporary allies," Samus interrupted.

"Yes, _temporary_ allies of Samus here," Ridley hissed.

"And how does Galactus fit into this?" Hawkeye asked.

"Kyliska is dead," Ridley said.

"Dead?" Iron Man exclaimed. Hawkeye went wide eyed, then relaxed.

"Then we don't have to worry about him, then," Hawkeye said.

"Not exactly," Ridley said. "There are rumors surrounding the Janus about Kyliska, and the power he left behind."

"Power?" Cloud asked.

"His technology," Iron Man said. "That makes sense. It isn't Galactus himself that we are to combat, but his technology. The Janus and the Heart would be able to, in theory power his technology."

"Plus," Samus said. "Aluren mentioned the Janus as weapon. They could also use that. Either way, this could be bad."

Iron Man walked up to one of the terminals talking about the Janus and pressed a button. A variety of technical information lit up the screen.

"The specs for the Janus are here," Iron Man said, surprised. "It may not be the actual thing, but I can still get enough information from this to get an idea of how to stop it."

"Good," Ridley said.

"Since I am a bit out of the loop," Hawkeye said. "Can I be filled in on what exactly happened here with Galactus?" Ridley and Samus both stared at him.

"I guess I'll fill you in," Samus said. "Sometimes I forget that we have people form other times and worlds here.

"One hundred years ago," Samus began. "A deep space exploration craft sent by the Federation was sent out to explore an uncharted solar system. It was to be mankind's longest space flight in current history. The people of Earth had high hopes for them. What they got was Galactus.

"When the ship reached the solar system, they found him feasting on a world. Galactus soon saw them, and what happened next, I can only speculate as only one message was sent back to Earth: 'he is coming, the Devourer of Worlds is coming!'. Next thing they knew, Galactus was making his way to Earth and eating worlds as he went."

"I guess with Reed and the rest of the Fantastic Four long gone," Iron Man said. "Galactus figured his pact to spare Earth was nulled."

"Nice guy, huh?" Hawkeye said with a snort.

"Anyway," Samus said. "Earth mobilized to stop him, but Galactus decimated two of our fleets before he was stopped. It is not known what exactly stopped him, only that it was some experimental weapon that took him down in one shot. That was the end of Galactus."

"A weapon?" Hawkeye said.

"The Janus," Terra said softly. "It was the Janus that stopped this Galactus."

"I think that's a safe bet," Iron Man said. "Judging by Aluren's holograms and records. I'll download the Janus' specs and bring them back to base for analysis, Samus."

"Sounds good," Samus said. She looked at Ridley from behind her mask. He stared back at her. "What is your stake in this? Why do you care? By all means, you should be working _with_ the Syndicate."

"You underestimate us again, Samus," Ridley hissed. "You mentioned before of the worlds devastated by Kyliska ta Lekya. One of them was our home world. He came, and we put up a feeble attempt to stop him, but his hunger prevailed and our world was devoured. What survivors remained had to seek a new home."

"Zebes," Samus said. Ridley nodded.

"We cannot forgive Kyliska for that, nor can we allow his legacy to destroy more lives. That is why we are doing this, despite other issues."

"I am sorry for your loss," Samus said thickly.

"Spare us your sympathy, Samus. You nearly destroyed our new world!" Ridley spat. "You would have become a new Kyliska ta Lekya!"

"And the Metroids you son of a bitch!" Samus yelled. "What about the lives you took? What about the hatchling?" She leveled her gun arm at Ridley, who took flight and hissed.

"Whoa there!" Iron Man said, stepping between the two, arms outstretched. "You can settle this later. Right now we need to work together to stop the Syndicate." Ridley and Samus both backed off. "Good. Now, Samus we will head back to your place and we'll analyze the Janus' data."

"You'll be going back," Samus said. "I won't."

"Where are you going?" Iron Man asked.

"I'm heading to Earth," she said with a shrug. "Something about Aluren bugs me and I want to dig up more stuff on him. I think a big chunk of our answers lie with him."

"I want to go with you, then," Terra said.

"No," Iron Man and Samus said in unison.

"But," Terra started, but Samus interrupted her.

"It's too risky," she said. "You'll be safer at the labs with Iron Man. Gyllin, and Cloud."

"What about me?" Hawkeye asked.

"You're coming with me," Samus said.

"Cool," Hawkeye said. "Any particular reason?"

"I'd like someone to watch my back on Earth, and I figured you'd like a glimpse of your what your home looks like in the future."

"Sounds good," Hawkeye shrugged.

"I really want to go," Terra said again. "I won't be a burden."

"Terra," Iron Man said. "You really would be safer with us." She sighed.

"Very well," she said. Cloud walked up to her, and put a hand on her shoulder. She gave him a weak smile, which he returned.

"Good," Samus said. "It's settled. Hawkeye and I will go to Earth to dig up some dirt on Aluren, while Iron Man can look at the specs on the Janus."

"While we," Ridley hissed. "Will keep tabs on the Syndicate. Here," Ridley held out a small computer pad.

"What is it?" Samus asked.

"Coordinates to our base of operations," Ridley said. "I suggest we meet there in two days in order to exchange information and come up with a plan of action."

Samus walked up to Ridley and hesitantly took the pad.

"I don't like this either Samus," Ridley hissed.

"But it needs to be done," Samus said when she took the pad. "Whether we like it or not."

"Agreed. Kraid, let's go," Ridley said as he flew off. Kraid bellowed and lumbered behind him.

"I suggest we leave ourselves," Samus said. "This place is starting to give me the creeps."

**The** garden was peaceful, with the sun out and the sky clear. A few puffy clouds dotted the blue backdrop. Trees grew sporadically among patches of well-organized flowering plants – many of which Dr. Doom had never seen before. He walked along a cobblestone path to the center of the garden. It was a large, circular cobblestone courtyard lined with trees and benches surrounding the perimeter. Birds could be heard in the trees above.

Kneeling next to a small patch of flowers was Magius. He was wearing plain, dirt-spattered clothes as he tended to his garden. Gardening tools sat next to him. Only a few feet away was a young woman wearing navy blue pants and a matching shirt. Her bronzed skin accented her blonde hair perfectly, and she fixed Doom with a stare from her hazel eyes.

"Your men failed to capture the Chosen," Magius said bluntly as Doom approached him.

"Your men were there as well, Magius," Doom said, not hiding his irritation.

"You promised me results, Doom," Magius said, looking up from his gardening. "And I fail to see them."

"Perhaps you need to learn patience," Doom said.

"I will not tolerate that kind of insubordination from you, Doom," Magius said icily. Then he smiled. "But admire your boldness. Not many people have the nerve to stand up to me.

"There is an opportunity," Magius continued. "For us to bolster our position in this cosmic game we are playing." Doom just stared at Magius from behind his mask. "I have word that the Chosen is with your friend Iron Man currently."

"He is not my friend," Doom said.

"Yes, of course," Magius said. The woman continued to stare at Doom. "But, anyway, I want you to retrieve the Chosen and take Iron Man and Samus out of the picture. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Doom said bitterly. "It will be taken care of."

"See that it is," Magius said. Doom left wordlessly, leaving Magius to tend to his garden.

**Samus'** ship landed in the forest clearing near Gryphon labs amidst a glowing sunset, with only the faint specks of the first stars of the night sky barely visible. Iron Man, Cloud, and Terra exited the ship, and saw Gyllin standing outside leaning on his cane, waiting for them. The ship promptly took off after a few seconds, and blasted off into the orange-black sky.

"Samus tells me you have some interesting news," Gyllin said dryly.

"That," Iron Man said. "Would be an understatement."

"We have a lot to discuss, then," Gyllin said as he turned and walked towards the doors of the lab. They opened with a hiss, and the four figures walked inside. Iron Man took the time it took for them to walk from the doors to the computer room in the back to fill Gyllin briefly on what they had found.

"So this is the Chosen," Gyllin said, squinting at Terra. "Lovely little thing, aren't you? My name is Gyllin."

"Terra," she said.

"And you?" Gyllin asked Cloud.

"Cloud," the spiky haired warrior said.

"Interesting," Gyllin muttered to himself. "And what of this 'Janus'?" He asked Iron Man.

"I don't know much," Iron Man said. "I have the files in my armor's computer, and I plan on analyzing them here."

"Sounds good," Gyllin said. "You have free reign of my labs, Mr. Stark. I'll make sure Cloud and Terra are settled in here. Just holler if you need anything."

"I will," Tony said. "Thank you, Gyllin."

"Just the fact that Tony Stark is here in my lab is thanks enough," Gyllin said with a broad smile. "But you are welcome anyway."

Tony laughed as he watched Gyllin escort Terra and Cloud out of the room. He plugged his armor into the main computer, and downloaded the Janus' files. He then took off his helmet and sighed. _This could take a while_ he thought to himself. _Maybe I'll have Gyllin bring me a pot or two of coffee_. Tony then went to analyzing the details of Aluren's last invention.

**"Here** you are," Gyllin offered a plate of warm sandwiches which consisted of a slab of warm meat between two slices of bread. "I'm sure you're starving."

"Thank you," Terra said, taking a sandwich. Cloud did the same. Gyllin sat down with them, and grabbed one for himself.

"This place is amazing," Terra said before taking a bite of the sandwich. Her eyes widened as she chewed the sandwich. Cloud tentatively took a bit of his while Gyllin was busy devouring his. "This is excellent Gyllin!" Terra exclaimed.

"It is," Cloud said, finishing the last of his sandwich. He quickly reached for another. "What is it?"

"I don't know exactly," Gyllin said. Terra and Cloud glanced at each other, and then back to Gyllin. "All I know is that it is some kind of large rodent that likes to sit in mud. I found one wandering around the labs many years ago and wondered if it were good to eat, so I shot it and ate it. It turned out pretty good."

"Yes," Terra said hesitantly. Cloud just shrugged and finished his sandwich.

"I also brought some water to drink. I'm afraid I don't have anything fancy around here, as I can't tolerate much else in my old age."

"Water is fine, thank you," Cloud said as he reached for a glass, and quickly drank it.

"So what do you do Gyllin?" Terra asked.

"I'm just an inventor," he said.

"What do you invent?" Cloud asked.

"Things," Gyllin said. "Many things. Most of which don't work, some of which do."

"Did you design the suits that Samus and Tony wear?" She asked. Gyllin laughed a bit.

"I wish! Samus' suit is a Stark Enterprises design with some Chozo technology thrown in, while Tony built the Iron Man armor himself."

"He _built_ it himself," Cloud said.

"That's amazing!" Terra exclaimed.

"Tony Stark is quite an inventor! Possibly the greatest Earth ever churned out," Gyllin said. He paused and smiled. "I keep forgetting that Samus said you come from a world far away from Earth and that you may not know some things. Here, I'll take those if you're done," Gyllin walked up, and grabbed the empty glasses and the empty sandwich plate. "I'm going to go check up on Tony and see how he's doing. Just let me know if you need anything."

**"**Thank you, Gyllin," Terra said with a smile.

"You're welcome, young lady," Gyllin said as he walked out of the room.

**"How's** it going?" Gyllin asked Tony as he walked up to the computer.

"Slow," Tony said. "These specs are very detailed, but I know most of it because they are exactly like the Heart's. It doesn't make any sense. How can they be _exactly_ the same if there aren't any records of the Heart ever being made?"

"Coincidence," Gyllin shrugged. "Don't sweat it."

Silence. Gyllin stood watching Tony pour restlessly over the computer screen. Every once and a while, Tony would rub his tired, puffy eyes.

"You need sleep," Gyllin said.

"I know," Tony said. "But sleep is a luxury that I do not have right now. I need to know everything about the Janus I can so we can destroy it before the Syndicate can use it."

"Yeah, but you're not going to come up with anything while you're tired. You'll end up making mistakes. Trust me, I know," Gyllin said, pointing to his head. "I have had many things go wrong when I was tired, and the best thing, I found out, was to sleep on it and get a fresh start in the morning. This can wait a few hours, Tony."

"Gyllin, can I ask you something?"

"You already have," Gyllin said dryly. "But sure."

"Why did you become an inventor? Did you want fame, fortune? Did you want to change the world? Or were you thrust into due to a family legacy?" Tony asked wearily. Gyllin sighed and took a moment before speaking.

"I wanted to make people's lives easer and get paid big bucks to do it," he said. "What I ended up doing, however, is a different story."

"How so?"

"When I graduated with my phD, I was flat broke. I didn't have the finances to do what I wanted, so I started out teaching while inventing stuff on the side. I was young, and an activist of sorts. I believed that mankind was destined for greater things, and worked to give it to them." He paused again.

"In fact," he said. "Joseph Aluren was a contemporary of mine."

"You knew Aluren?" Tony asked, shocked.

"No, he was a _contemporary_. I met him once and we exchanged a few words, and that was it. However, he was impressed with my work, and offered me position on his Jenova project – which you saw first hand. I turned it down, though, as his heart was in the right place, but the pocketbook wasn't. There was another, more lucrative project that I had been offered, but it pained me to take it."

"Military," Tony said. Gyllin nodded.

"The Federation paid me quite well to build weapons. Weapons that could send hundreds upon thousands of troops screaming to the abyss. I even developed weapons that could bombard whole planets without having to set foot on them. Thankfully, those never panned out. The bottom line was, I had my money, but I didn't feel like I was making a difference. I retired and started Gryphon Labs. Unfortunately, I've been a failure ever since."

"I wouldn't say that," Tony said. "You built Samus' time machine. And I'm sure, you've built many things that can be useful."

"Yeah," Gyllin said.

Tony looked at the aged scientist in front of him and sighed inwardly. He tried to shake off the image of himself eventually standing in Gyllin's position.

"I know the desire to be remembered," Tony said after a while. "It seems like no matter how hard I try to design something to help mankind, something goes wrong while my weapons, such as the armor, linger. Is history going to remember me as an arms dealer, a weapon designer? Or will I make a difference?"

"You know," Gyllin said. "Some minds will argue that the betterment of mankind does lie in weapons. We can use them to keep us safe from those that will harm us, and that can allow us to live in peaceful times. You will be remembered for great things, Tony Stark," Gyllin said. "You may not think so, but you will achieve some great things in your life."

"Thank you," Tony said.

"No, thank you," Gyllin said with a smile. "Now, go get some sleep."

"All right," Tony nodded.

**After** a few hours of sleep, Tony was out of his Iron Man armor, sipping a fresh cup of coffee, and back at the computer. He felt much better and rested. The Janus made much more sense now, and he felt like he finally had a connection to the arcane device. That is when he found the answers he was looking for.

"Gyllin," Tony said. "Come take a look at this."

The aged scientist walked up drinking coffee out of a 'Star Trek' mug, and stopped in front of the terminal. His eyes widened as he finished absorbing the information on the screen.

"My God," Gyllin said wordlessly.

"Exactly," Tony said in a hushed voice. "Get Terra and Cloud in here, they need to see this." Gyllin just nodded and ran off. .

Moments later, Cloud, Terra, and Gyllin all arrived at the computer terminal.

"What is it?" Terra asked.

"I have uncovered the secrets of the Janus," Iron Man said. All three looked at him wide-eyed.

"The Janus, as previously stated, is nearly identical in function to the Vulcan's Heart, so I decided to skip over the technical specs and research other files on the Janus. That is when I discovered this in a carefully encrypted file," Iron Man pressed a button and specs of the Janus came up, but with words and letters in an unfamiliar language. Terra gasped.

"You recognize it Terra?" Iron Man asked.

"Yes," she said breathlessly. "It is the language of Espers."

"Espers?" Cloud said.

"Beings of magic from my world. I am," Terra paused. "Was, half-Esper. When Kefka was defeated on my world, the Espers disappeared, so the half of me that was Esper also died. Until recently. I have felt that part of me resurface, and that is why I think the Syndicate is after me."

"You said that you remember seeing Aluren on your world," Iron Man said. "Could there be a connection there?"

"I think so," Terra said. "Aluren worked in the Magi-Tek research lab."

"I've heard you use that term before," Iron Man said. "What exactly is 'Magi-Tek'?"

"Technology fueled by magic. However, the Empire also conducted research on Espers, converting them into a battery of sorts called Magicite."

"Magicite?" Gyllin asked. "It mentions that here," Gyllin said, squinting at the screen. In small letters written in English, the word 'Magicite' was written, as well as another term.

"Materia?" Cloud said. "How is that possible?"

"I take it that that is from your world," Iron Man said. Cloud nodded.

"It is a material meant to give the bearer enhanced abilities," Cloud said. "I was trained to use Materia."

"Do you have any?" Iron Man asked.

"No," Cloud said. "Not anymore."

"So the Janus uses Materia and Magicite as power?" Gyllin asked.

"Ask Terra," Iron Man said. "She can read the writing." Terra nodded and looked at the monitor.

"I can't understand all the details, but that looks like what they are used for," she said. "It is like the Empire's projects all over again."

"What capabilities does Magicite have as power sources?" Iron Man asked.

"Tremendous," Terra said. "However, they do wear out."

"Then that is where the Materia come in," Cloud said. "To keep the Magicite, and these Espers alive."

"That is what I was afraid of," Iron Man said. "Here is what I found a few minutes ago, but until now, the full gravity of the plans was not visible." He switched to the next screen. This one showed the Janus working as a sleek, dome shaped device one minute, and then as a cannon the next. It fired a blast of energy at a small planet, showing all the life on the planet die.

"What?" Cloud exclaimed and Terra gasped.

"This is just a simulation," Iron Man said. "The Janus, like its namesake, has a pair of uses: as a source of peaceful power, and as a weapon of massive devastation. However, since you pointed out that it is powered by living beings, it just doesn't _kill_ things, it sucks their energy out of them, and stores it in the Janus, thus furthering its power generating capability."

"Allowing it to kill more things," Cloud said. Iron Man just nodded.

"I can see how this could destroy Galactus now," Iron Man said. "And why Aluren feared it so much."

"Hmmm," Gyllin said.

"What?" Iron Man asked.

"If I am reading this right," the old scientist said. "Then Aluren states that the Janus becomes _very_ unstable as it absorbs life. He states the need for a 'channel', someone of 'intense spiritual energy to guide the flow of energy'." They all glanced at Terra.

"I guess I know where I come in now," Terra said.

"He needs you to control the energy," Iron Man said.

"To do what?" Gyllin asked. "To destroy planets?"

"No," Cloud said. "To revive this Galactus." They all just stared at him. "Think about it. Tony, you said that the Janus absorbs energy, right? Well, somewhere in there is Galactus. I think the Syndicate thinks they can use Terra to revive Galactus, and, maybe, control him somehow."

Tony swallowed hard, but remained silent. In the distant silence, the sound of the doors being forced open could be heard.

**"Are** you sure this will work?" Clint asked for the tenth time. The two walked towards the Federation Archives building, which was, ironically, the old UN building. Clint wore a pair of faded blue jeans and a white t-shirt. Around him, the bustling metropolis of futuristic New York hummed with activity. Most of the old buildings were preserved with a healthy smattering of new, more streamlined ones. Flying cars were even common – a fact that made Clint smile amusingly to himself as none matched the design presented at the summit.

"Yes," Samus said with a sigh for the tenth time. She wore a pair of jeans and a white tank top. Her brown hair was tied tightly behind her.

"Sorry," Clint said. "I just feel a little – uncomfortable- is all."

"Look, Clint," Samus said. "I know how you feel. I don't like the idea of walking around without my armor, but we don't want to draw attention to ourselves with the Syndicate on our tail. It will be okay. Try to relax a bit, all right?"

"Yeah. Relax," Clint said.

A pair of guards outside the UN building turned Archives stopped Samus and Clint. They wore heavy body armor with helmets that left only their mouths and chins visible. Some strange looking rifles were held neutrally in their hands. Samus showed them her identification, and they promptly let them in with a salute.

Clint whistled as they walked inside.

"This place hasn't changed much," he said.

"That's because it was preserved as a historical landmark after the UN was disbanded."

"When was that?" Clint asked.

"When the Federation was formed. They deemed the UN as irrelevant and unnecessary," Samus said.

"It took them that long to figure that out?" Clint said with a broad smile.

"Yeah," Samus said with a slight grin. They walked passed a series of rooms, and went to a heavy door at the end of a long hallway. A solitary guard stood there, and trained his weapon on them as they walked up. Samus flashed her ID again, and the guard let them in.

The door opened to a small hallway wrapping around a room with large windows. Clint looked into the room and saw stacks of cabinets and neatly arranged desks with computers. No windows opened up to the outside.

"What is this place?" Clint asked.

"The 'official' records of the Federation," Samus said. "Where the government keeps records that normal people don't know exist. This is our best shot at finding what we need to know about Aluren."

"As well as the truth about Roswell, who shot JFK, and the true location of Elvis, right?" Clint asked. Samus just glared at him. "Anyway, how does a bounty hunter gain access to a place like this?"

"Save the Federation's ass a few dozen times, and you make a few contacts," Samus shrugged as she walked up to the door of the central room, slid her ID card, and walked through the now open door. Clint followed closely behind her, the door shutting with a hiss.

Samus walked up to a computer, sat down, and begin to type.

"Make yourself comfortable," Samus said motioning to a chair. "We'll be here for a while." Clint pulled up a plain, cushioned metal chair, and sat next to Samus. "By the way, Clint," Samus said hesitantly. "Tony told me about you taking out Enchantress for me back on Terra's world. I want to thank you."

"No problem, Samus," Clint said. "I didn't really want to see you vape Tony there."

Samus laughed.

"Tony was right," she said. "You are handy to have around." She paused. "I am…sorry," she said, turning away.

"For what?" Clint asked.

"For treating like you were an incompetent boob," Samus said.

"Apology accepted," Clint said with a raised eyebrow. Samus just nodded and went to furiously typing on the computer. After a few hours, Clint was pacing the room, and a small alarm beeped from Samus' communicator.

"What's that?" Clint asked.

"It's Tony," Samus said worriedly. "He's in trouble. We've got to go."

"Then download what you need and," Clint paused.

"What?" Samus asked.

"We have company," Clint said as he saw four soldiers in black uniforms running down the hall, guns at the ready.

**Iron** Man stood there, facing the intruder with a hard expression. What shock there was now faded into logical reasoning. It all made sense now. Why had he not seen it before? To his left stood Cloud and Terra. Cloud had his sword ready. Gyllin was on Iron Man's right, standing his ground firmly.

And in front of him, clad in his own suit of armor and garbed in his traditional green cloak was Victor Von Doom himself. The tyrant of Latveria moved with a measured pace as he glared at Iron Man and his colleagues from behind his own metal mask. He held no visible weapons, but in Tony's long history with Doom, that meant nothing.

"Ah, Iron Man," Doom said as he approached. "What an unpleasant surprise it is to find you here."

"I would like to say the same," Iron Man replied. "But I could smell your rank odor the moment we stepped into this mess." _What is his role in all of this?_ He wondered.

"Bravo for the stellar comeback, Iron Man," Doom said sarcastically. "I don't really wish to parley with you here, so I will be taking the Chosen now. Please make this easy for yourselves, and step down."

Iron Man quickly trained his repulsers on Doom, while Cloud stepped in front of Terra.

"You will have to go through me if you want her," Cloud said with a growl.

"You wish to challenge Doom, little man?" Doom said. Then he laughed, clenching a metal fist. "This should make a grand sport!"

"I don't care who you are," Terra's soft voice came from behind Cloud. "But we outnumber you three to one. I wouldn't make such bold threats if I were you."

"Face it chrome dome, you won't be taking the Chosen today," Iron Man said, unflinching.

Doom snorted in contempt. "Did you honestly expect _me_ to travel alone Iron Man? I thought you knew better than that." Behind him, the shapes of Wrecker and Enchantress emerged from the shadows. Enchantress smiled seductively with her arms crossed, while Wrecker was hitting the palm of his hand with his crowbar.

"We will have the Chosen Iron – ugh!" Doom's tirade was over with a repulser volley from Iron Man.

"I could never stand listening to you Doom – you talk too much," Iron Man said. Wrecker then charged towards Terra, and met with the flat of Cloud's blade upside his head. Wrecker reeled back from the blow as Cloud brought his sword back, and slashed Wrecker across the chest. The big man was surprised to see that he was actually bleeding from Cloud's blade.

"You'll pay for that runt!" He growled as he lunged at Cloud with a fist. The blow caught Cloud in the face, sending him to the ground with a thud.

Iron Man stood over Doom, repulsers pointed at Doom's face.

"All right Doom," Iron Man asked. "What is your game here? What did the Syndicate promise you?"

"I thought you hated hearing me talk, Iron Man," Doom said as he held his hand out and blasted Iron Man back into some equipment. The blow made his head ring.

"Stop right there!" Gyllin said, cane at the ready. "No one destroys my lab while I stand!"

"Suit yourself," Doom shrugged as he got up. He pulled out a small gun from his armor and pointed it at Gyllin.

_What are thinking Gyllin?_ Iron Man thought as he kicked his boot jets into gear.

He crashed into Doom as Doom fired. The shot went slightly off, and only hit Gyllin in the shoulder. However, the blow was enough to knock the old man unconscious next to the main computer terminal. Doom and Iron Man crashed into the opposite wall, and into more junk.

**Wrecker** walked up to Cloud laughing. Cloud saw him, but his head swam, and his vision blurred. He tried to lift his sword, but somehow was compelled not to.

_You really don't want to get up now do you?_ A soft female voice cooed in his head. _Hand us the Chosen, and anything you want will be yours. _

"Anything?" Cloud whispered to himself as he looked towards Terra. _Anything_ the voice replied.

"Back off bitch!" Terra shouted as she blasted Enchantress with a blast of lightning, and Cloud's mind and vision returned enough to see Wrecker's crowbar bearing down on him. Cloud rolled out of the way, leapt to his feet and stuck his sword into Wrecker's shoulder, causing him to cry out and drop the crowbar. Wrecker brought his other hand back, and smashed Cloud in the face again.

Cloud reeled a bit, but held steady despite the blood pouring from his nose. His head pounded. Another blow like that could knock him down for good.

"You silly little girl," Enchantress said with a laugh as Terra's lightning spell hit her. "I grew up with Thor. Do you think a little lightning is going to hurt _me?_"

"Maybe not," Terra said in a steady voice. "But maybe this will," she said as she unleashed a powerful burst that was the Flare spell. Enchantress held her ground as the flames started to push her back.

Enchantress countered with a magic blast of her own, causing Terra to flinch and release her control over the spell. Terra stepped back, and Enchantress stepped forward. Terra was breathing hard now, her power was waning, and she felt dizzy, weak. Enchantress kept coming, kept pushing. Then she saw Cloud fighting Wrecker blow for blow, and Gyllin's still form on the ground, and the tangled mass of metal that was Doom and Iron Man. She saw that, and steeled herself. She felt the long forgotten power rise in her, and she let it go in a burst of fury.

Enchantress' eyes widened in shock as Terra's blast caught her, and sent her flying back. Terra just stood there, dazed, breathing hard.

Doom held both of Iron Man's hands with his own, trying to keep the repulsers angled away from him. Iron Man pushed downward, trying to get a shot in at Doom.

"Give up Doom?" Iron Man asked.

"Never," Doom sneered as Enchantress flew overhead, knocked back by Terra's blast. Iron Man and Doom gave up struggling for a brief second as both saw Terra standing there. Doom grinned to himself, and took advantage of this distraction.

He released a jolt of electricity that shot through Iron Man, and left the armored Avenger with fried circuitry. Doom threw Iron Man to the ground as he got up. Iron Man was breathing hard as he tried to get up, but his armor's systems were temporarily down. All he could do was watch. _Damn it Doom!_

"You are coming with us," Doom said as he shot a dart that stuck Terra in the neck. She promptly fell to the ground.

"Terra!" Cloud yelled as Wrecker knocked him to the ground. Cloud hit with a thud, and Doom walked slowly up to Terra.

"So much power, yet so fragile," Doom said. Terra's breathing was labored, and she was barely aware of the situation around her. Her eyes were just slits as they tried to stay open. She saw Wrecker, staggering from multiple sword wounds, and Cloud trying to get back up from behind him. Then, she saw Gyllin stir.

Iron Man saw the scientist stir as well, and saw the old man crawl towards a terminal. _What are you doing?_ Iron Man thought.

"No one," Gyllin said between breaths. "Destroys my lab," another breath. "But me." He pressed a button, and the alarms blared.

"Self destruct in one minute," a mechanical voice said.

"See you in Hell, Doom!" Gyllin yelled.

"Grab her and go!" Doom ordered Wrecker, but Cloud was up, and he swung his sword to where caught Wrecker upside the head and sent him reeling. In one fluid arc, Cloud brought his sword down against Doom.

The lord of Latveria managed a step back, but the sword scraped against his armor. He glared at the spiky haired warrior from behind his mask, and Cloud's eyes met his. The sword stroke caused some minor damage to Doom's support systems.

"Forget the girl," Doom growled as he stepped back. "She's not important. Let's just leave them here to meet their maker. See you all in Hades!" Doom said as he ran off with Wrecker and Enchantress in tow.

Cloud collapsed next to Terra as Gyllin staggered up.

"We have to move now!" Gyllin yelled. No one replied.

"Thirty seconds to self destruct," the mechanical voice said.

Iron Man started to lift himself up as his armor's power returned. But his armor was still weak, and he would not be able to make it outside in time. He winced. _Samus, Clint forgive me. I have failed. _

_No you haven't. Not yet_. A mysterious voice inside of his head said to him, and a warm pink light surrounded him as he lost consciousness.


	6. Chapter 6 The Best Laid Plans

Chapter VI – The Best Laid Plans….

Samus' ship sped through the reaches of space, the stars blurring into streaks visible from the ship's view ports. Samus poured over the reports on Aluren she downloaded from the Federation Archives. Or, at least, she was attempting to. Hawkeye sat next to her in the ship, fidgeting in his seat. Samus was in her full armor again, but even Hawkeye could tell she was distracted. The memories of the day ran through each of their minds.

**"We **have company," Hawkeye said as he watched the black armored soldiers running through the halls of the Archives building.

"What do they look like?" Samus asked.

"They're all in black armor and aren't wearing any type of helmet," Hawkeye said.

"Syndicate soldiers," Samus hissed. "Here," she tossed Clint a small gun. He caught it with reservation.

"I don't much like guns," Clint said as he stared at the weapon. The soldiers neared the pair.

"You don't have much choice, hero," Samus said drawing her own weapon.

"Is there a back door out of here?" Clint asked. Samus looked around, and stared at the back wall. She leveled her gun and fired, leaving a gaping hole in the wall.

"There is now," Samus said.

**"Come** on, Tony," Samus said frantically, which jarred Hawkeye out of his daze. "Give me a sign or something that you're okay."

"I'm sure he's okay, Samus," Hawkeye said. "I mean, he's fought some tough characters over the years and survived. I'm actually more worried about Terra."

"Yeah," Samus said. "Tony can take care of himself." She sighed. "I hope they're all right."

"They are," Hawkeye said hesitantly. _You had better be all right, Tony._ He thought to himself, letting himself drift into a light sleep.

"**I** guess your plan didn't work after all," Clint said as he and Samus ran through the outer walls of the Archives building, Samus making exits whenever they weren't provided.

"Shut up Clint!" Samus said.

"All right, all right. How exactly did Syndicate soldiers find us?" Clint asked.

"Probably an agent somewhere in the building with access to my identification," Samus growled as they started to run through the streets of futuristic New York.

A small group of Syndicate soldiers appeared in front of them. Clint and Samus quickly dove behind some cars for cover, with Samus firing off a few wild shots as she did so. Clint grasped the gun Samus gave him tightly, and he peered over the car. The Syndicate soldiers fired in constant streams, with Samus returning fire.

A shot from Samus felled a soldier. They returned fire, and Samus shot back, downing another one.

"I could use a little support here Clint!" Samus yelled, firing.

Clint swallowed, beads of sweat coming down his face. He peered over the car and saw his target. With shaking hands, he took his shot. It hit the Syndicate soldier square in the chest, causing him to hit the floor. Samus took that moment to leap out from behind her cover, and fire a pair of shots at the remaining two soldiers.

"Move," Samus yelled as she took off. Clint followed her as he glanced quickly at the soldier he shot. _Damn…_ he thought to himself, and he continued to run.

After a few moments, and few stray shots later, the two reached Samus' ship in the spaceport. It was crawling with Syndicate soldiers.

"Damn!" Samus said. "That's probably how they tracked us."

"Is it too late to say 'I told you so'?" Clint asked. Samus glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. Clint just shrugged.

"Here," Samus said. "I'll put your gun on stun for you."

"Thanks," Clint said, looking at her quizzically.

"You hero types are strange," she said. "But I need you to lay down suppressive fire without hesitation."

"You got it. What setting is your on?" Clint asked.

"Mass carnage," Samus said with a grin.

"These are some weapons," Clint said.

"Custom design," Samus replied. "For when I am 'naked'. All right, here we go." She pressed a button on her communicator, and the ship powered up - much to the surprise of the Syndicate soldiers. They all looked around in a confused manner as the ship took off towards Samus.

They regained their composure after only a few seconds – and spotted Samus. She just smiled as the ship neared the pair of them, and fired. The shot flew forward, and exploded in the middle of the cluster, scattering them in a smoking mess. The gun emitted a short beeping sound, and Samus looked down at it with a frown.

"Out of power," she growled. "Okay, Clint, you're on!"

"Gotcha!" Clint said as he fired at the closest soldiers with precision shots. Each soldier took a few shots to down due to the armor, but Clint soon realized where the chinks in the armor were – and how to exploit them.

The ship neared their position, and Samus stood up, waving her gun around in order to confuse the Syndicate soldiers. Hawkeye continued to lay down suppressive fire. At last, the ship neared Samus, and she positioned the ship to where it hovered above them and blocked the shots of the remaining Syndicate soldiers.

Samus jumped into the lower hatch, and turned the ship around. Bursts of energy came from the ship's forward batteries as they scattered the remaining soldiers. Clint took advantage of the situation and followed Samus through the hatch. The ship then took off as fast as Samus could push it towards Gryphon Labs.

**Samus** could see the smoke well before she reached the labs. Her heart pounded in her chest as she saw the massive plume on the horizon, over the line of trees. She swallowed hard, and pushed the ship as fast as it would go.

"What the Hell!?" Hawkeye almost leapt out of his seat when Samus stopped the ship.

"My god," Samus whispered.

In front of them, the skeleton of Gryphon Labs stood silent. The façade was smoking, and the twin doors were burst open. Large chunks of the metal structure were blown apart, and plumes of smoke threatened to choke the air.

Among the carnage, a lone figure stood in front of the ruins. Terra stood there in her clothes, now tattered and scorched in some places, with a dazed look her eyes. She just stood there, staring forward as though she didn't see the ship landing. Around her lay the still figures of Cloud, Iron Man, and Gyllin.

"Tony!" Samus yelled as she leapt from her seat, and practically flew out of the hatch. Hawkeye sat there, stunned, for a moment, and then he followed Samus out of the ship.

Samus had already reached Iron Man by the time Hawkeye jumped down from the ship's hatch. She sat next to him, and removed her helmet.

"Tony," she whispered. "Speak to me."

"Samus," he groaned. "Is that you?"

"No, just some figment of your imagination, Shellhead," she said softly.

"Samus," he said. "It is good to see you again." She just hugged him wordlessly.

"Terra?" Hawkeye asked her. She just stood there, breathing shallowly. "Terra?" He asked again, waving a hand in front of her face. She jumped with a gasp.

"Clint," she said in a hushed voice.

"What happened here?" Clint asked.

"Doom," Iron Man said as he got up with Samus' help.

"Damn!" Hawkeye said. "I should have guessed that he had his hands in this!"

"Who is 'Doom'?" Samus asked.

"Dr. Victor Von Doom," Iron Man said dryly. "Easily the most infamous villain of our time."

"And the most talkative," Hawkeye said. "He loves to hear himself talk."

"I.. figured.. that.. out," Gyllin's voice came weakly over the talking.

"Gyllin!" Samus ran to him, and Hawkeye went to go check on Cloud. "You're alive!"

"Yeah, thanks for noticing," he grunted. "So that_ was_ Dr. Doom. Interesting."

"You've heard of him?" Samus asked.

"I've seen his name mentioned once or twice," Gyllin said as he stood himself up. His skin and clothes were scorched in some areas, and his hair looked frayed and tattered, but otherwise looked okay.

"What happened?" Samus asked, looking over the wreckage of the lab.

"I blew it up," Gyllin said.

"You what!?" Samus exclaimed.

"I blew it up," Gyllin repeated with a shrug. "Doom and his cronies were going to take off with Terra unless I did something drastic – and I did."

"But your inventions," Samus said. "Your livelihood!"

"Not much there," Gyllin shrugged. Samus paused, and looked at Gyllin's face, trying to read it. His face was calm, but his eyes betrayed him. She went up and hugged him wordlessly.

"It'll be all right," she whispered.

"Hey," Hawkeye said, shaking Cloud, who was breathing heavily. "You all right there?" His eyes opened with a start.

"I feel like I've been run over by a herd of angry Chocobos," Cloud said, rubbing his eyes. "Other than that, I'm fine. But how?"

"I'd like to know that myself," Iron Man said as he looked at Terra, who still had a frazzled look on her face.

"I.. I," she paused. "I awoke a side of me that was dormant for a while. The Esper side of me. It is still hard for me to control, which is why you all lost consciousness, but it was the only way."

"We're not blaming you, Terra," Iron Man said. "Just amazed is all."

"Good to know that everyone is okay," Samus said. "But we have to get going. The meeting with Ridley is in less than ten hours. We can talk and rest on the way." She turned to Gyllin. "You can come with us if you wish."

"No," Gyllin said. "Samus, I blew up my lab willingly, you know why?"

"No," she said.

"Because my two greatest inventions were not in there," he said. "Your time travel device, which is safely aboard _your_ ship, and this," he pressed a button, and a small Federation-style fighter arose from the trees. It was a triangular design with thrusters in the back, and armaments on the wing.

"A Federation fighter?" Samus asked with a quizzical glance.

"Hmph," Gyllin grunted. "Please don't insult her. It is the _prototype _for those Federation cows. This baby has boosted engines and shields, twin photon launchers, and quad plasma cannons."

"All of which are illegal," Samus said.

"Precisely," Gyllin said. "Which is why the Federation had to strip down the design when they decided to use it. Bunch of pansies if you ask me."

"You designed the current Federation fighter?" Samus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Surprised?"

"No," she said. Gyllin walked up to the fighter, and crawled into it. "Where are you going?"

"To call in some favors," Gyllin said. "I plan on giving Doom the bill for my lab. I'll see you later," he said as the cockpit closed, and the ship rose of the ground, flew over the treetops, and off into space as a bright speck in the sky.

"All right," Samus said. "Let's get out of here."

**Magius** sat behind his desk in the cavernous room scribbling down some notes on a piece of paper when Doom entered.

"Why did you come back without the Chosen?" Magius asked without even looking up.

"Iron Man got in the way," Doom growled.

"I did not ask for excuses, Doom," Magius said firmly as he looked up from his work. "I asked for the Chosen, and you failed to bring her to me."

"Iron Man is dead," Doom said. "And so is that swordsman and the scientist helping Samus Aran. The old fool blew up his own lab. They were too crippled to have made it out."

"Now that is good news," Magius said with the barest spectre of a smile. "Well done. Now, please explain to me why the Chosen is not with you?"

"She also died back in the explosion," Doom said with a scowl behind his mask.

"I told you to bring her back," Magius said, standing up.

"You said she was no longer important," Doom said, louder. "That you did not need her anymore, and that Iron Man and Samus Aran were the real targets here!"

"And what of Samus? Is she dead as well?" Magius asked.

"No," Doom said. "She was not there."

"Every time you show some redeeming feature, Doom," Magius said sternly. "You go and ruin it. With Samus still alive, our plan is in jeopardy. Especially without the Chosen."

"Why do we need her?" Doom asked. "We have the Janus and the Vulcan's Heart."

"Yes," Magius said. "But we lack the battery. And I _do not_ want to _be_ the battery! But it looks like we have little choice in the matter," Magius said as he sat down. "I will give you one more chance to prove yourself Doom, or else I will make sure you get lost in the time stream somewhere. Understood?"

"Perfectly," the words burned in Doom's mouth.

"I want you to take care of Samus Aran. Now, leave me," Magius said with a wave of his hand. Doom stormed out.

"You're still alive," Magius said to himself as he stared at a piece of Magicite on his desk. The strange tube on energy glowed with a faint aura. "I can feel you Terra, even across the reaches of space. You will be my battery, my Chosen. Silence," he said.

The girl in black stepped out of the shadows, and bowed wordlessly.

"I want you to keep and eye on Doom. I trust he is planning something foolish," Magius said. The girl nodded. "Also, execute the Space Pirate spy and send the remains to Zebes." Silence nodded again and silently exited the room. Magius sighed to himself, and pressed a red button under his desk.

"Faith?" he said.

"Yes," a female's voice answered.

"I need to see you in my office, love," Magius said with a smile. The other end went silent. Within a minute, the doors opened revealing a figure wearing a suit of armor very similar in design to Samus', except that it was black and blue instead of red and gold. The helmet was off, revealing the face of the bronze skinned, blonde haired woman from the garden.

"You wanted to see me, Lord Magius?" She asked with a bow.

"Yes, Faith," Magius said. "Come closer, please," he gestured and she walked up to his desk. "Ah yes," he said, studying the armor. "A masterpiece. So finely crafted." He paused. "I am told your training is almost complete."

"Yes," Faith said.

"Good," Magius said. "I want you to come with us to the Graveyard. I have a special assignment for you there."

"Yes, my Lord," Faith said, and Magius smiled.

**Doom** thundered down the hall, flurry of emotions raging inside of him. _How _dare_ he speak to Doom like that! This alliance is growing wearisome!_ He thought as he marched down the hall to a set of double doors at the end. They opened with a soft hiss, and Doom entered the well-lit room with luxurious furnishings adorning it. It was a good-sized room, but still only a fraction the size of Magius'.

Enchantress lounged on a crimson velvet couch, while Wrecker stood next to a window, watching the lush landscape outside. He showed no induction that his wounds bothered him. Each turned their attention to Doom as he entered in a flurry.

"What's wrong?" Enchantress asked.

"Magius," Doom hissed as he paced the room. "I will crush him!" Doom made a fist.

"Then we are going along with the plan?" Enchantress asked.

"Yes," Doom said. "I am not given power as a dog would be given a treat, I take power as a king would take a crown from the clutches of his fallen foe!" He smashed his fist into a wall, leaving a dent.

"What about this Samus chick?" Wrecker asked. "She's pretty tough."

"We'll let Magius' Syndicate deal with her," Doom smirked behind his mask. "Put up enough of a fight to convince Magius we are on his side, but don't strain yourselves," Doom said. Enchantress and Wrecker turned and smiled wolfishly at each other.

"**They're** all sleeping now," Tony said as he sat down next to Samus. She just stood there, resting her head on her hand, letting the autopilot guide them. Both were in their armor still, sans the helmets.

"You should rest too," Samus said.

"And what about you?" Tony asked.

"I'll manage," she said.

"Then I'll manage with you," Tony responded.

"Thanks," Samus said. "I can't believe that they followed you to the labs. I thought we were safe there. Poor Gyllin."

"He did what he needed to do," Iron Man said. "I admire his courage."

"Yeah," Samus said.

"Anyway," Tony said. "I hate to bring this up now, but what did you end up digging up on Aluren?"

"Ah," Samus said, perking up a bit. "You will find this quite _enlightening_," she said as she turned on a small computer monitor on her control panel. "I only skimmed through it, but I got the important bits out of it." Iron Man just stared intently at the screen.

"Joseph Martin Aluren was born in 1918," Samus started.

"What!?" Iron Man exclaimed.

"It's right here, look," Samus said, pointing to the screen. "Here is a picture of his graduation from Harvard – where he graduated top of his class I might add." Iron Man stared at the picture, and saw a young man with the same hawk nose and the same piercing dark eyes. He was clean-shaven.

"Later," Samus said as Iron Man stared in stunned disbelief. "He joined the military in developing weapons, and he was an integral part of the Manhattan Project." Another picture, this one of a slightly older Aluren, now sporting the goatee, with another project scientist and a top military official.

"This has to be a coincidence," Iron Man said. "It _can't _be the same person."

"Here," Samus said "Is Aluren working on the Roswell craft at Area 51."

"Wait, you have pictures of these in the future?" Iron Man arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Samus shrugged. "The Federation declassified most of it a while back. They thought it foolish to keep it a secret when we were making contact with new aliens on a monthly basis. Anyway, here is a picture of him in the late 50's, working on more experimental military hardware."

"He hasn't aged a day," Iron Man said in a hushed voice as he stared at the young man in the picture in front of him. Aluren stood in front of an object that looked like a flying wing.

"A stealth plane," Iron Man said. "Interesting."

"Here comes another crucial part," Samus said, and a picture of Galactus filled the screen."

"The Coming of Galactus," Iron Man said.

"Yup," Samus said as she pressed another button. A short video started playing, the audio muted out. Iron Man recognized the Fantastic Four but he could barely make out a reporter's frantic voice as he relayed what was going on. "Here," Samus said as she paused the video. She pointed to one bystander. Iron Man looked at it, and his eyes widened. He recognized the angular face of Aluren instantly now.

"What's here dong there?" Iron Man asked.

"Don't know," Samus said. "But here is something else. Here is Aluren working with NASA on their latest space project – in 2015." Iron Man looked at the picture of Aluren standing with the scientists. Other than the peppering of his black beard, his face still held many youthful properties. "Not bad looking for a 97 year old."

"Not at all," Iron Man said.

"He is on the payroll for NASA until 2056, when he left to start his own business – Jenova Enterprises."

"There's that name again," Iron Man said.

"Yeah," Samus said. "Anyway, Jenova Enterprises was a group dedicated to world peace. Then the last Earth War happened in 2078. It was the war that caused the birth of the Federation and essentially ended all hostility on Earth. Aluren was asked to design weapons for it, but he refused. In fact he was an active protestor against the war –despite the end results. We got peace through the war, but Aluren was openly disgusted with the violence."

"Apparently, all those years designing weapons got to him," Iron Man said. Samus just nodded.

"After that, he disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Iron Man asked.

"No one – not even the Federation – knows what happened. He just disappeared. Only," Samus said, "To emerge fifty years later in 2125. One hundred years ago. That is when he started the Jenova station project."

"And no one questioned this? I mean he was gone for fifty years!"

"He faked a birth certificate, and erased all of his past records – except for those in the Federation Archives of course, so everyone thought this was some guy with a name honoring Aluren, a relative or something."

"I guess the obvious question is," Iron Man said. "How did he live so long?"

"The records show his as a member of the Mystics, a group of people who believe they have psychic or magical powers or something," Samus said. "He was a founding member of the group in 1939."

"I've never heard of such a group," Iron Man said. "And I've dealt with many magically inclined people and psychics in my time."

"Doesn't surprise me," Samus said. "It was very secretive and select. You not only had to possess 'mystic talents', you also had to hold their ideals."

"Which were?"

"To rule over those without such talents a benevolent rulers."

"Sounds like a certain mutant I know," Iron Man snorted. "Except for the 'benevolent' part."

"Anyway," Samus said. "He left the group for unknown reasons, though it happened after a certain event. An event that is very pivotal in Aluren's files and ideologies." Samus went back to a previous still.

"Galactus," Iron Man said staring at the Devourer of Worlds, and Aluren's small from in the frame.

"Precisely," Samus said. "After that encounter, Aluren left the weapons development teams of the military and went to NASA, where he stayed, watching with the world with a jaded view of things. His protests hinged on the idea that why should humanity fight amongst themselves when there is a greater enemy among the stars. He thought humanity's in-fighting was pointless and foolish."

"So that's why he left," Iron Man said. "And disappeared."

"It also explains the Janus," Samus said. "Aluren wanted to develop tools to unite mankind, and eventually the rest of the universe against beings like Galactus. He refused to design weapons to use against even those like Thanos and Galactus. That is why he looked so frazzle back on Jenova – he didn't want to see his tool for peace turn into a weapon."

"He wasn't sad or worried about that," Iron Man said shaking his head. "He was scared of it."

"What did you find out?" Samus almost whispered after a short pause.

"The Janus is a source of infinite power," Iron Man said. "That runs off of living beings."

"What?" Samus said with a quizzical look.

"Terra called them 'Espers'," Iron Man continued. "Beings of spiritual energy that were converted into power cells called 'Magicite' on her world. A material called 'Materia' from Cloud's world then further stabilizes these Magicite crystals. That is what provides the Janus with its limitless supply of power."

"That explains Alurens' disappearance!" Samus said. "When he left Earth, he went to Cloud's homeworld and Terra's homeworld. There, he conducted the research he needed to build a device to unite people in peace."

"How did he find those worlds?"

"He felt them," Samus said, her voice cold. "Being a Mystic would have allowed him to feel his way to them across space."

"The idea seems far fetched," Iron Man said. "And I wouldn't believe it if it weren't for he fact I _have_ seen stranger things with the Avengers."

"So why was Aluren so scared of his own device, then?" Samus asked.

"When converted to a weapon, it can suck the souls away from living things and use them to further enhance its power generating capacity," Iron Man said. "In other words, it gets stronger every time it is used. So much, in fact, that it needs a human 'battery' of intense spiritual power to stabilize it."

"Terra," Samus said. Iron Man nodded. "So, in order to stop Galactus the first time, Aluren needed a battery to handle all the power generated."

"Bingo," Iron Man nodded. "But the records do not indicate who it was."

"It was Aluren," Samus said. "He put himself as the battery. The records in the Federation do not show it either, but I can be sure it was him, for the records show him as 'disappearing' again after the defeat of Galactus."

"It would make sense that, since he had nothing left to lose, he would be the one to do it."

"Now," Samus said. "Comes my question: why do they need the Heart?"

"They need it as an additional power supply," Iron Man said. "As I scanned over the plans, I noticed something unusual. The final record of the Janus said it was nearly destroyed in the confrontation with Galactus, and some of the Magicite was wiped out. Now, Terra said that the Espers on her world were destroyed, which would make it impossible to obtain more Magicite."

"So they need another way to generate the power," Samus said.

"Precisely," Iron Man said. "And the Heart's design is nearly identical – except for the running off of the souls of once living beings part. The part I wonder, though, is how did they found out about the Heart. There aren't any records in history about it."

"Tony," Samus said. "There is one last thing I want to show you." She pulled up a photo set from the summit where Tony unveiled the Heart. After cycling the pictures of the familiar event to Tony, she stopped on one.

"No," Iron Man whispered as he fell back in his seat. Seated in the back of the audience, nestled among a large group of people was Aluren's quiet, hawk-like face. "He was there?"

"He knew about the Heart, Tony," Samus said.

"But how did the Syndicate know about it?" Iron Man asked.

"Because Aluren is still alive," Samus said. "After he 'disappeared' last, a new group of criminals appeared. Their goal was the disruption of large governing bodies to promote peace. They call themselves the Syndicate." Iron Man just stared at Samus with a look of stunned disbelief.

**In** front of Samus' ship was not a planet nor a space station like Samus was expecting, but rather a fleet of large, slender ships. Interspersed among the large capitol ships, fighters patrolled the area. A pair of them flew up to Samus' ship, and Samus gave them the appropriate pass codes. The fighters then went to escorting Samus' ship to the central capital cruiser.

Samus landed her ship in the docking bay of the cruiser, and waited for the bay to pressurize before she exited the ship. She was wearing full armor again, as was Iron Man, who followed her out. Hawkeye, Cloud, and Terra, soon followed.

"Weclome," the insectoid figure of a Space Pirate clicked as it walked up to them. Two other Space Pirates in armor and carrying strange looking rifles covered the lead figure's flank.

"Likewise," Samus said dryly.

"Ridley is expecting you," the figure said. "This way, please," it motioned to the door, and started walking. The group then followed. After navigating through crowded and twisting corridors, they eventually stopped in front of a simple door. The door opened into a well-lit room with a large round table in the center, and a variety of chairs surrounding the room. The figure motioned Samus in, and then left. Samus and the others tentatively walked in.

"You're early," Ridley said.

"Yes," Samus said.

"What have you found out?" Ridley asked as he flew from his perch in the corner of he room. Kraid lumbered behind him. Samus scanned the rest of the room. "Don't worry, Samus, it's just the two of us. Relax."

"Hard for me to do so when I am surrounded by Space Pirates," she said.

"Now, now, Samus," Ridley hissed. "We're allies, you can trust us. Did you get the information you sought?"

"Right here," Samus said, handing Ridley a data disk. "And you?"

"The Syndicate is on the move," Ridley said. "They have mobilized heir fleet and are preparing to move. However," Ridley paused. "Our spy was caught and executed recently – probably by the girl, Silence. That put a hamper on our intelligence gathering."

"Did you find out where they were going?" Iron Man asked.

"No," Ridley hissed. "Now, let us learn of Aluren and his Janus." Ridley inserted the data disk and poured over the information. After a few hours, he turned off the computer, and looked towards Samus.

"Now things are starting to make sense," Ridley said. "The Syndicate intends to revive Kyliska and use him as a weapon."

"That is what we think as well," Samus said.

"They could also use the Janus," Iron Man said. "Which could be even more dangerous than Galactus."

"Which means we have to act fast," Ridley said. "We have to come up with a plan for stopping the Syndicate."

"If we could get the Heart back, it would disrupt their plans," Iron Man said.

"I suggest taking the fight to them," Samus said. "We can go and attack the Syndicate before they move and stop the threat before it becomes threatening."

"I actually agree with you, Samus," Ridley said. "I would love to go and rip Magius' head off of his wretched body, but our intelligence suggests that they are already moving. And there is the issue of Terra. We need to keep her out of Syndicate hands."

"What about here?" Hawkeye suggested. "You guys look pretty set up, and it would be hard to find her here."

"I would not like the full brunt of the Syndicate put upon my fleet," Ridley said.

"But you just said you'd love to go storming in on their base," Hawkeye said.

"That is different. I hate being on the defensive," Ridley hissed.

"And," Terra said softly. "Magius would find me. I feel his presence in my mind now. He doesn't know where I am now, but he will find me eventually."

"Can we hit the Syndicate on the move, then?" Hawkeye suggested.

"Good idea – if we could find them," Samus said.

"Our intelligence thinks they are heading to the Graveyard," Ridley said. "The place where Galactus fell."

"That would make sense," Iron Man said.

"Then let's go there," Cloud suggested. "And let's bring Terra."

"What?" Iron Man, Hawkeye, Ridley and Samus all exclaimed at once.

"Think about it," Cloud said. "They can track Terra down, so keeping her hidden is out. They are moving, and their base well defended, so trying to hit their base or their fleet would prove difficult. But, they _need_ Terra for their plans. I say we go to this Graveyard and wait for them to come to us.

"They will bring the Janus and Heart most likely," Cloud continued. "And we can set up a defensive position there and wait. In one fell swoop, we can protect Terra, disrupt the Syndicate, destroy the Janus, and retrieve the Heart. Plus, it will be a good opportunity to bonk some heads," Cloud shrugged.

"I think he is on to something," Iron Man said.

"A sound plan," Ridley hissed.

"It is as good as anything else we've come up with," Samus said.

"Are you okay with it, Terra?" Cloud asked her.

"I just want all of this to be over," she said. "I will do whatever you ask of me, because," she paused. "I trust you."

"Then it is settled," Samus said. "We make our way to the Graveyard and wait for the Syndicate there."

"Our fleet will be ready to move within the hour," Ridley hissed. "Let us go and make the Syndicate reach its end!"

**It** felt weird for Samus Aran, intergalactic bounty hunter, to be walking around a ship crawling with Space Pirates. As she walked down the corridors alone with her thoughts, she glanced cautiously at the pirates around her. They all returned her caution, staring at her with a mix of bitterness and confusion. She kept her guard up at all times, expecting a trap, an ambush, anything. But nothing happened, for which she was thankful for.

She hated this whole idea since day one, and it still left a bitter taste in her mouth every time she spoke of alliances with that beast Ridley. He was the one ultimately responsible for the Hatchling's death, as he was the one who stole it for Mother Brain. He and Kraid caused countless agony upon her and others with their schemes. And here she was, on a Space Pirate ship, going into battle along side them against a much, much greater threat.

Samus walked into the docking bay where her ship was, and saw Ridley loading gear onto a troop transport, while the troops mulled around. She walked up to Ridley hesitantly.

"This is just as awkward for me," he hissed as Samus walked up. "As it is for you."

"I know," Samus said. "Do you think that we'll truly arrive there before the Syndicate?"

"I believe so," Ridley hissed. "We are closer than they are. I chose this location to meet because I knew that we would have to go to the Graveyard sometime before this ordeal was over." He ordered a crate to be lifted onto the transport.

"What are in the crates?" Samus asked.

"A surprise," Ridley said as he opened one. It was a heavy, bulky looking rifle that resembled more of a rocket launcher. "For our friends. They are Phazon weapons."

"Phazon!" Samus almost shouted. "Are you nuts? You know that stuff is unstable."

"Yes," Ridley hissed. "And potent. We will need them if Kyliska is awakened."

"I guess so," Samus said with a sigh. "When we will be leaving."

"In moments," Ridley said. "Go prepare yourself, bounty hunter."

"I will," she said as she walked away. Then she spotted Tony walking close to her ship. She walked up to him.

"Iron Man," she said.

"Samus," he replied. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," she said. "I want to talk to you. Privately."

"Okay," Iron Man said.

"We'll use my ship," she said, her heart pounding in her chest. She swallowed hard. _This is it_ she thought.

"Sounds good," Iron Man replied. "These Space Pirates make me uncomfortable."

"Tell me about it," Samus said as she walked up to her ship, and entered through the hatch. Iron Man followed. Inside, the ship was dark, and Samus preferred to keep it that way.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Tony asked as he sat down. Samus sat on the seat next to him in the cockpit.

"Something that I've been pouring over for some time, actually," she said nervously. _How can I be nervous?_ She thought. _After all I've been through, I am still nervous. Bloody hell…_

"Tony.. I.." she paused. "I want to let you know that I have deep feelings for you. At first, I thought they were nothing, but as the year passed, and I saw you again, I realized that I was feeling something I had never felt before. And I like it."

"Samus," Iron Man said. "I can't begin to tell you how happy that makes me. I have felt similar feelings recently, but thought it foolish. I thought I would never see you again, and here you are in front of me. I wish I could be with you."

"But it seems unlikely," Samus said. "I know. But I just wanted to let you know."

"Thank you," Iron Man said. "Maybe after this whole mess is over, we can talk it over more."

"I'd like that, Tony," Samus said as she got up, and hugged him. "Just don't do anything stupid later."

"You too," Tony said as he hugged her back.

"**Cloud?"** Terra asked. "Are you nervous?"

She stood in the small room, watching the stars again. For some reason they made her calm inside. Cloud sat on a bed behind her, his hands and chin resting on the hilt of his sword, which rested point down on the floor.

"Yes," Cloud said plainly, and Terra walked up to him, and sat next to the warrior.

"I am glad that I am not alone, then," she said with a slight laugh. "Samus, Tony and Clint always seem so sure of themselves, I was afraid I was the only nervous one here, then."

"They're all nervous as well," Cloud said, looking at her. "They just hide it well. Every skilled warrior is nervous before going into a battle, especially one as large as this one."

"Yeah," Terra said as she reached out and put one of her hands on one of his. He removed it from the hilt of the sword, and clasped her's firmly. "Don't be nervous, all right? No matter what happens, it will all be all right."

"I know," he said, brushing his other hand against her face. The sword fell to the ground with a clatter. She wrapped both of her arms around him, and Cloud m mimicked the motion. "Nothing will happed to you," he whispered. Terra just held him tighter, saying nothing.

**"Wow**," Hawkeye said. "It really is a graveyard."

Samus' ship now sped along side the Space Pirate fleet as the approached the vast sea of metal debris dubbed the Graveyard.

"It was the site of the final battle with Galactus," Samus said. Iron Man sat next to her, while Cloud, Terra, and Hawkeye stood behind them. "This is all that remains of the Federation fleet sent out to stop him." She flew her ship away from some debris with the writing _F.S.S. Intrepid_ on the side. The Pirate ships blasted anything that got in their way.

"So where is Galactus?" Hawkeye asked.

"There," Iron Man said breathlessly as a large sphere came into view. It was, for the most part, intact. Only a few chunks of metal blasted off the sides and a few blast marks marred the perfect spherical surface. Surrounding the station was an array of arms, which Iron Man took to be docking ports. In what was probably the front of he sphere, a large round door was closed.

"Hasn't changed," Iron Man said.

"Yeah," Hawkeye said. "Brings a shiver down your spine, doesn't it?"

"Samus," Ridley's voice hissed over the intercom. "We are moving our transports in. Meet us in the main corridor."

"Got it," Samus said as she maneuvered her ship to the nearest docking port.

The ship landed in the bay, and the five heroes exited the ship after it was pressurized. The docking bay was large and cavernous with one large door exiting from it. Samus walked up to a panel on the side of the door, and pressed some buttons. With the sound of straining metal, the doors opened. The group then walked through the massive doors and into a large, high vaulted, hallway.

"This doesn't look like something Galactus would build," Iron Man commented.

"It isn't," Samus said as Terra walked through the doors. They closed behind her. "This part was build by the Federation to bring large numbers of troops in here to keep tabs on Galactus after the battle."

"So Galactus' body is in here somewhere?" Hawkeye asked.

"Yes," Samus said. "In the main room of the sphere. That is where, if the stories are to believed, Aluren confronted Galactus with the Janus."

"Well, let's go meet up with Ridley and pay him a visit," Iron Man said, when Cloud looked around frantically.

"Where's Terra?" He asked.

"She's gone?" Hawkeye asked, amazed. All four looked down the corridor and saw Terra slowly walking down the corridor to the massive doors at the end.

"Terra!" Cloud shouted, as he started to run, but he stopped.

She was walking forward as the doors started to open, and a squad of black armored soldiers rushed out, guns at the ready. The soldiers took up defensive positions, and pointed their weapons at the four remaining heroes. Enchantess stood behind them, luring Terra forward while Wildfire stepped out twirling his gun.

"Bastards!" Samus shouted as she level her gun arm at them. Cloud drew his sword, Iron Man trained his repulsers on them, and Hawkeye notched an arrow.

"How did they get here before us?" Cloud growled.

"How did we not see them?" Iron Man asked.

"Lower your weapons," Wildfire said with a broad grin. He stopped twirling his gun, and pointed it at Terra. "If you want her to live." The four relaxed their weapons.

"You won't hurt her," Iron Man said. "You need her."

"Correction," Enchantress said as Terra walked up to her. "We don't. We have back up plans if necessary." Enchantress gingerly ran a finger down Terra's expressionless face. Wildfire still kept a gun trained on her.

"But you do," Wildfire said. "You don't want to see her killed do you?" He grinned maliciously. Cloud breathed hard, fury burning in his eyes. The heroes still held their ground. "No? Then go home." He laughed and stepped back with Enchantress. The line of Syndicate soldiers formed up to cover the pair, and backed through the door. When they were all through, Wildfire grinned widely, and shot the door controls, forcing the doors shut with a loud crash.

"Bastards!" Cloud said. "I will personally gut them all!"

"Easy, there," Hawkeye said. "We have to get through that door, and let me tell you, Big G liked his privacy. That door won't budge now." Cloud was still tense, but said nothing.

"What's all the shouting about?" Ridley asked as he showed up with Kraid and a large group of Space Pirates in tow.

"The Syndicate beat us here," Samus said icily.

"And they have Terra," Iron Man said.

"That's impossible!" Ridley hissed. "We would have seen the Syndicate ships." A beeping sound cut him. "Yes," Ridley hissed as he answered his com.

"Sir," a crackling voice said. "Syndicate ships are arriving from the other side of the planet! They were hiding in a shadow, away form our sensors!"

"Keep them occupied!" Ridley hissed. He shut off the com, and threw it hard at the floor, shattering it. "How!?"

"I don't know," Samus said.

"Terra did," Cloud said, closing his eyes. "She knew. She said Magius could feel her, and I think she could feel him as well."

"She agreed to do this, despite the danger?" Hawkeye asked. "Why?"

"I think she wanted to get it over with," Cloud said. "But she also told me before we arrived not to worry, that everything will be all right. I think she knows what she is doing."

"In any case," Hawkeye said. "Through that door is Terra, the Heart, the Janus, Doom, Magius, about a million Syndicate members and one Devourer of Worlds. I say we go pay them a social call."

"Agreed," Samus growled. "Everyone brace yourselves, this is going to make a big explosion."

"My favorite kind," Hawkeye said with a smirk.

Samus grabbed a Phazon cannon from a close Space Pirate, and quickly wired it to her suit. The resulting shot blew through the doors like they were paper, leaving a large hole in the doors. The heroes were all floored by it, and Samus flew back a hundred feet from the recoil.

"Wow!" Iron Man exclaimed.

"Unfortunatly, I won't be able to repeat the trick," Samus said. "My armor can't take it. But we now have a doorway of opportunity here."

"What's the plan?" Ridley asked.

"To go in," Samus said, grinning behind her helmet. "With all guns blazing and hope to take out as many of them as we can!"

"Now you're talkin'!" Hawkeye said.

"I like it," Ridley said with a laugh.

"Then let's do this!" Samus said.

"I think someone is way ahead of you," Iron Man said as he pointed to Cloud. The spiky haired warrior was already running to the burst door, sword at the ready.

"All right! For Earth!" Samus yelled as she ran towards the door, Iron Man kicked his boot jest into gear and followed. Hawkeye ran on foot.

"For Zebes!" Ridley yelled while Kraid bellowed. He then surged forward with Kraid and his legion of Space Pirates.


	7. Chapter 7 Apocalyptic Angels

_Well, here it is: the main event! This battle is what truly inspired me to write this story. I think it gives fans of all the characters involved (and even my own creations - the Syndicate members) a chance to see the characters kick some serious butt. I hope it doesn't disappoint. Enjoy!_

Chapter VII – Apocalyptic Angels

Samus spearheaded the group as they surged forward through the burst door. Iron Man flew in right behind her, followed by Hawkeye and Cloud. Ridley, Kraid, and the rest of the Space Pirates formed a wave behind them, ready to crash with full force against the Syndicate. When she breached the door, however, Samus had to stop, the rest taking positions on her flanks and rear.

The sight in front of her was defiantly one to behold. It was a large and cavernous room with a dome-shaped ceiling stretching hundreds of feet above them. Above them, projected on the ceiling was the backdrop of space, and the cosmic ballet that ensued between the Space Pirate fleet and the Syndicate fleet among the Graveyard. In front of her, however, was the most breath taking sight.

Galactus himself sat on his massive throne. Or last his shattered husk did. The Devourer of Worlds was still intact in all of his glory, but he looked shrunken and lifeless. The eyes were open, but stared into nothingness. On a platform in front of he throne stood Magius.

He was standing in front of a good-sized domed object garbed in robes of crimson and black. Off to Samus' left, she could see Wildfire and Enchantress moving Terra to a containment capsule, which was hooked up to the strange machine that Samus assumed was the Janus. Dr. Doom stood only a few feet from the mystic.

"The Heart," Iron Man whispered beside her as Samus brought her attention again to the Janus. The dome shaped object had a gun mounted on it, which was pointed at Galactus, and below that was the unmistakable golden shine of the Vulcan's Heart.

"Well, don't we make a lovely gathering," Magius said, with his back towards the group. "An intergalactic bounty hunter, a misplaced swordsman, 20th Century heroes, and a legion of Space Pirates. I was told you were dead, Iron Man" Doom scowled behind his mask. He now turned around.

"Give us Terra and the Heart, Magius," Samus said, lowering her gun arm towards him. "And I may let you live."

"Temper, temper, Miss Aran," Magius said. "I wouldn't plan on hurting your precious 'Chosen' or Mr. Stark's precious device," he gestured towards Iron Man mockingly, showing that he knew full well who filled the Iron Man armor.

"I only want to use them," Magius said calmly. "To bring about a new peace among the galaxy."

"By awaking Galactus?" Samus asked. "Some peace."

"You have it all wrong," he said. "I plan on using Galactus to bring about my order. I will use Galactus to destroy any who would fight their petty wars, any who would disrupt the peace and quiet of the Universe. Life is so loud and destructive, the Universe so quiet and peaceful. I plan on restoring the harmony that it once enjoyed."

"By destroying more lives?" Hawkeye bit out.

"Forced peace," Samus said.

"Is there any other kind?" Magius asked. "Only through force of arms can peace truly be achieved. Surly you are not naïve enough to believe otherwise?"

"Where did you go wrong, Magius?" Iron Man asked. "When did you decide that taking lives was acceptable? Was it when you first encountered Galactus," Iron Man paused. "Joseph Aluren."

"That name has no meaning to me!" Magius spat. "Joseph Aluren died with Galactus. I killed him and now stand in his place." His voice settled down. "But as much as I would love to discuss the finer points of what I wish to discuss, I have some business to deal with." Terra was now fully hooked up to the device. She was encased in the capsule and looked like she was sleeping. "And I do not want you to interfere. Wildfire, Doom, destroy them!"

With that, Syndicate soldiers poured out from other areas of the station. Wildfire took up position with other Syndicate soldiers, twirling his gun. A wide, malicious grin lit up his face. Doom stood still as Enchantress and Wrecker moved beside him.

"It ends now," Magius said.

"You're right," Samus said. "It does." And then all hell broke loose.

**Samus** fired a missile at Magius, but the aged mystic just stood there and watched as the missile veered off course. It crashed into a group of advancing Space Pirates, scattering them.

"Damn it!" Samus grunted. "Iron Man, I am going after Terra, you think you can cover me?"

"Sure thing, Samus," Iron Man replied.

"I'll go as well," Cloud said as shots fired all around them, both friendly and hostile. Cloud deflected one with his sword.

"No," Samus said. "We need you here Cloud. Terra will be fine, trust me."

"Okay," Cloud said reluctantly.

"Good," Samus said as she kicked her speed booster into gear, and space jumped her way up to the platform. Iron Man cleared it of any Syndicate soldiers with a few well-aimed repulser volleys as he flew up beside Samus. Syndicate soldiers then hit Iron Man full on, causing him to recoil a bit from the shock, but the armor suffered minimal damage.

Samus ran forward without checking on Iron Man, blasting Syndicate troops with a combination of missiles and spazer beam shots. The shots from the Syndicate soldiers barely dented her armor.

"Going somewhere," a regal voice said as Samus continued forward. Then a metal clad figure garbed in a green cloak stepped in front of her, his arms crossed. Samus skidded to a halt.

"Dr. Doom, I presume?" Samus said.

"Clever," Doom said with a sarcastic tone. "And you must be the infamous Samus Aran. I have heard many horror stories about you. It shall be an honor to best you in combat."

"I don't have time for this," Samus said. "Move."

"You should do something about that temper, Samus," Doom said as he fired a blast from his gauntlets. It his Samus square in the chest. She grunted and curled up in her morph ball to absorb the shock of hitting the wall, but it still hurt.

She uncurled herself into a ready position and was about to fire when a pair of repulser blasts and the swooping shape of Iron Man swept by and knocked Doom away.

"Samus, go!" Iron Man yelled. "I'll keep Doom occupied."

Samus didn't need to be told twice, and speed over towards Terra. _Thanks Tony._

"Meddlesome fool!" Doom yelled as he blasted Iron Man head on. Iron Man reeled back. "How did you survive back there?"

"A little bit of luck," Iron Man said. "Which is more than enough to shut you up."

Samus was about to reach Terra when a missile caught her in the side. She flew sideways into a wall with a grunt. Quickly, she recovered and pointed her gun arm in the direction of the shot. Her eyes widened. In front of her was figure standing there in blue and black armor that was nearly identical to hers. Her breathing intensified, but she kept her gun arm steady on the figure in front of her. The figure stood there, unmoving, their gun arm trained on Samus.

"Samus Aran," a female voice said. "It is an honor to meet you."

"You have a funny way of showing it," Samus bit out.

"Yes," the figure said. "I have trained my whole life to be like you, and now I will prove myself your better. My name is Faith, and I am your superior."

"Prove it, little girl," Samus said with a sneer behind her mask.

**"Damn** there are a lot of the bastards!" Hawkeye said as he readied another explosive arrow, and unleashed it into a crowd of Syndicate soldiers. Around him, Space Pirates provided support fire. A few Syndicate shots hit home, and a few Space Pirates fell around him.

"That there are," Cloud said as he slashed at one of the stray Syndicate soldiers that decided to close. "I need to get closer to them, you think you can cover me?"

"Sure thing," Hawkeye said. Cloud was about to run off then he stopped. Hawkeye loosed another arrow, that one exploding in another group of Syndicate soldiers. "What's wrong?"

"Change of plans," Cloud said. Hawkeye glanced to where the spiky haired warrior was standing and saw the assassin, Silence ripping apart Space Pirates left and right. Hawkeye just nodded and Cloud closed in.

From beside Hawkeye, Kraid bellowed loudly as he stomped on a group of Syndicate soldiers. The beast's scaly hide was unfazed by the laser volleys that hit it. Ridley flew in and out, switching between ripping up Syndicate soldiers and scorching them with fire. Hawkeye fixed three arrows at once, and fired, taking out three Syndicate soldiers.

A yell from above caught Hawkeye's attention. Wrecker dove down from a platform above them, and landed on Kraid's hulking form. He battered Kraid mercilessly with his fists and crowbar, and Hawkeye could tell the big hulk was feeling it. The archer readied an arrow and fired. The shot caught Wrecker in the shoulder, piercing it. With a grunt, Wrecker fell to the ground.

Wrecker quickly got up then danced around Kraid's feet, whacking them repeatedly. Kraid managed to kick him aside after a few blows, sending the brick flying a few hundred yards back. Kraid moved in to bring his foot down upon Wrecker, but stopped. With a bellow, Kraid moved to a group of Space Pirates, and started moving through them.

"Kraid!" Ridley hissed. "What do you think you're doing?"

Hawkeye looked through a crowd of Space Pirates, and saw his target. He readied an arrow, and fired it at Enchantress. It never landed as a shot blasted it out of the air. Hawkeye turned and saw Wildfire standing there, a mocking grin on his face.

"Forget Kraid right now, Ridley," Hawkeye yelled. "He's under Enchantress' control."

"Damn it!" Ridley hissed.

"I can take her out, but I'll need you to clear out Wildfire for me."

"Done," Ridley hissed as he flew in the direction of he insane gunman. Kraid continued to run through groups of Space Pirates.

**Cloud** ran up to Silence with a yell. He cut through any stray Syndicate soldiers and deflected a few laser shots with his sword. The assassin, however, turned quicker than Cloud thought as he approached. She ducked his slash, and kicked him hard in the gut. He reeled back, and she twirled her blades around to where all Space Pirate and Syndicate troops cleared the space around them. _A duel _Cloud thought amusingly. _This will be fun._

"This time," Cloud said calmly. Silence just grinned at him. "I will make you talk, even if it is a scream of mercy."

She lunged at him, her blades dancing around him. He parried every blow perfectly. She kicked at him, and Cloud dodged. He used the leverage to push her back a bit, and brought his blade bearing down on her. Silence parried his blow, but Cloud could see the strain of her action. Her face twisted a bit.

Cloud brought his sword back, and quickly slashed in a sweeping arc towards her legs. Silence quickly jumped into the air, and landed a kick in Cloud's face as she did a back flip. She landed perfectly, blades pointed at Cloud. Cloud wiped the blood from his face and smiled. _This is getting interesting_…

**"Face** it Iron Man," Doom's voice droned on. "You and your group of miscreants are outclassed here." He fired another shot at Iron Man, who just nimbly dodged. Iron Man returned fire, catching Doom in the chest. He flew back with a grunt.

"Can't you just shut up for one minute?" Iron Man said.

Doom returned fire, catching Iron Man in his right leg. The right boot jet fluctuated a little, leaving Iron Man unbalanced. _Damn it! It's still fragile from Wildfire's shot!_ Doom took advantage of the moment of hesitation, and backed off, firing at Iron Man. Most of he shots connected, and staggered Iron Man.

"This is getting old, Doom," Iron Man said.

"I concur," Doom said.

**Wildfire** was enjoying this. He laughed as each shot he fired took out a hapless Space Pirate. Around him, Syndicate soldiers took shots for him and provided cover fire. He twirled his gun around and fired. A Space Pirate went down. He spun around on his heel and fired. Another one down. He even fired over his shoulder. Another down.

He grunted as a few shots hit him in the chest. Thankfully his body armor was still holding. _This is getting boring_ he thought as he twirled his gun around, tossed it to his left hand, and shot another of Hawkeye's arrows out of the air. _Perhaps I should go after bigger quarry?_ He turned around and saw Samus and Faith engaged in their struggle. He smiled, and aimed. But a screech from behind diverted his attention.

The beast called Ridley was swooping down at him. Wildfire smiled as he brought his gun around. _This will do nicely_! He laughed, the untamed hair cascading over his face. Ridley screeched again, and bellowed fire. The flames were bright enough to overload Wildfire's optical implants. He grunted and fired; grimacing, as he knew his shot didn't connect where he wanted it to.

Ridley didn't let the shot to his torso bother him as he continued on his course. The Space Pirate grabbed the gunman, and carried him into the air. Ridley twisted Wildfire's right hand to where he dropped his gun with a cry. He looked into Ridley's eyes, the stone cold eyes. Ridley flashed his teeth in satisfaction as he saw the fear illuminated on Wildfire's face, even reflected in his purple lenses.

"Unlike those heroes from Earth," Ridley sneered. "I have no problems killing those who oppose me. No mercy," Ridley hissed as he took a claw, and slashed Wildfire across the gut, spilling his insides on the battlefield below. He could feel the life pulled away from Wildfire, and he dropped the lifeless body in the middle of a group of Syndicate soldiers. Only then could the sting of the gunman's final shot be felt.

**"Good** job, Bulb-head," Hawkeye said with a grimace. "A little gory, but good."

He took his shot against Enchantress as Kraid continued to cause chaos and confusion among the Space Pirate ranks. The arrow flew true, and opened up to a net, which entangled Enchantress in its folds. Kraid stopped what he was doing, and saw Wrecker battering down some Space Pirates. The beast bellowed, and Wrecker went wide-eyed. Wrecker went flying back as Kraid's foot kicked him aside.

"Nice work there, Kraid," Hawkeye said to himself. He reached for another arrow and grimaced to himself. _I'm runnin' low_ he thought. _Have to conserve 'em_.

**Around** them, the battle raged. Space Pirates and Syndicate soldiers each fired at other. Shots connected, and ranks thinned. Projected in the dome above, the space battle continued. But none of that mattered. To Cloud, the only thing that mattered was the black clad girl in front of him. And to Silence, the only thing that mattered was the spiky-haired warrior in front of her.

Silence and Cloud each stood there, waiting for the other to react. Cloud breathed hard, closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed. Silence just stared intently at him. With a yell, he surged forward, sword swinging. Silence parried the blow, and slashed Cloud in the shoulder. He grimaced slightly as he pulled back, and parried the other sword – which was aimed at piercing his gut.

She stared at him, he stared at her. Neither seemed to want to move again. Then a thud diverted both of their attentions. Wildfire's gutted body landed only a few feet away from them. Silence's eyes widened. Cloud pulled his sword back, and slashed. Silence moved to parry, but Cloud feinted at the last second, and brought his stroke upwards. It cut Silence from waist to shoulder, causing her to fall to the ground; her twin swords sprawling across the battlefield.

Cloud walked up to her, and stood, sword pointed downward. She looked up at him weakly, and opened her mouth as if to speak.

"Mercy," she whispered, and Cloud brought his sword down, impaling her through the chest.

"Given," Cloud said.

**"You** annoying little bitch!" Samus said as she fired a cluster of five missiles at Faith. The other armored warrior dodged nimbly, returning fire with her plasma beam. Samus rolled up into her morph ball and dodged the shot.

"What?" Faith sneered. "Too much for you, old bag?"

"I am not old!" Samus said as she fired her ice beam at Faith. The shot hit her on the gun arm, freezing it.

"That's it," Faith said. "You're going down." She broke the ice with her fist, and fired a charged up shot at Samus. Samus leapt over her, and fired a plasma shot into Faith's back. She staggered forward.

"You're still green," Samus said. "Go home, little girl." Samus glanced towards Terra, who was still encased in the capsule. She then looked back towards Magius and the Janus. The device was up and working now, Magius working on his preparations. Shots were being deflected all around him.

A missile delivered to her chest brought her attention back to Faith, however. Samus quickly returned fire with a missile of her own. Faith quickly jumped out of the way, and froze Samus to the ground with her ice beam.

"Whose green now," Faith mocked.

Samus just growled as she used her plasma beam to break free of the ice. She rolled into her morph ball again as another missile flew over her. Samus rolled between Faith's legs, and left a bomb there. It blew up, but barely dented Faith's armor.

"That it?" Faith said. "Is that all you have?"

"No," Samus said as she fired a super missile into Faith, sending the armored warrior back. Faith hit the opposing wall with a grunt.

With a growl, Faith got up, and fired missile after missile at Samus. Samus dodged all but the last one, which caught her in the chest. The burst from that one knocked her to the ground. Faith quickly ran up to her, and lowered her gun arm at Samus.

"All to easy," Faith said, breathing hard. A stream of fire caught her in the side, however, and knocked her away, giving Samus enough time to get up.

_Damn it Ridley!_ Samus thought as she saw his leathery shape fly overhead. _Now I _owe_ you one!_ Ridley just sneered as he flew off. Samus noticed he was straining, however, with his flying.

Samus looked towards Faith, who was in a crumpled, smoking mass. The girl groaned, but just sat there. Samus smiled from under her helmet and walked up to Terra. The bounty hunter punched through the container, and Terra's eyes immediately opened.

"It's too late!" Magius' voice came from behind them. "The events are in motion!" The station shook. "Ah, the Heralds awake." Samus and Terra just stared at Magius with concerned glances.

**Iron Man** flew towards Doom awkwardly on his single boot jet, and caught Doom in a flying tackle. The two went back, crashing into a wall. Doom grunted, and fired at shot at Iron Man. Iron Man flinched, and let go. Doom tried to fly away, but Iron Man caught him in the back with a full repluser blast.

"Retreating already Doom?" Iron Man said. "I'm disappointed with you."

The station shook.

"I have more pressing matters than you, Iron Man," Doom said. "Catch," he said as he tossed a small object towards Iron Man. His eyes widened as the grenade exploded in front of him, and sent Iron Man crashing to the station's floor. He grunted from the impact. His head ached badly.

"This is going to hurt come morning," he groaned.

**"This** ain't good," Hawkeye said through gritted teeth.

"No," Cloud breathed. The warrior stood, sword drawn, next to Hawkeye. Ridley was perched a few feet away, straining under his wound. Kraid stood behind them with what remained of the Space Pirates.

They were all watching the Syndicate forces pull back as the station shook again. Galactus' from started to glow with a faint aura, and loud rumbling sound could be heard.

"It is working!" Magius' voice boomed over the rumbling. "The Heralds now come to take you!"

"Ah crap," Hawkeye said. "This is really, really bad."

"Why?" Cloud asked.

"Galactus usually recruits some tough cookies for his Heralds. I shudder to think who we're up against this time."

"We've already forced the Syndicate back," Cloud said. "What more can they do to us? We are winning."

"I'm glad someone is optimistic," Ridley hissed. Then they came.

Emerging from the aura surrounding Galactus' husk were two angelic figures wrapped in a brilliant light. Hawkeye squinted in the light, but could not make out the details of their forms. All he could tell is that they both floated on wings.

"Behold the final Heralds of Galactus," Magius said. "May they keep you busy."

"Arrogant bastard," Hawkeye said.

The two angelic forms drifted into view, and Hawkeye could now see both of them fully. One of them was a one-winged angel with long, silver hair. His armor was black, like Cloud's, with one, demonic wing keeping him afloat. The thing that held Hawkeye's attention the most was, however, the sword. It was longer than the angel was tall.

"Sephiroth," Cloud hissed. "He should be dead."

"Old friend?" Hawkeye asked.

"Very," Cloud said. "That one is _mine_."

"Good, I'll take the one without the scary looking sword," Hawkeye said.

"Oh will you?" The other figure said with a chilling laugh. This one floated on two feathery wings, his muscular torso bare. He had short-cropped blonde hair and stared at the group with wild eyes. "The master commands us to destroy you, so we shall!"

"Go ahead and try, laughing boy!" Hawkeye said.

"The name is Kefka," the second figure said. "And who are you, you gaudy troubadour? The Purple Pansy?"

"Oh that's it!" Hawkeye said as he fired an arrow at Kefka. Kefka laughed as the arrow veered of course and landed into a group of retreating Syndicate soldiers with a large explosion.

**"Kefka?"** Terra said weakly. "No."

"Don't worry about him," Samus said. "We have other things to worry about now."

"Like me," Magius said, approaching the two. "The Heralds can keep your friends busy, which leaves me free to deal with Terra here."

"Over my dead body," Samus said, lowering her gun arm at Magius.

"Suit yourself," Magius shoved her aside with a stroke from his hands. She crashed into a wall in a clump. "Faith," Magius said. The armored warrior was now up and about. "Put Miss Aran in the machine."

"What?" Terra exclaimed.

"You were but a diversion, little girl," Magius said. "Samus has more power than you." Terra glared at him. "Oh, yes. She was infused with Chozo blood at a very young age, and the Chozo were ripe with mystical energy. It was Samus we needed, not you. And now you have outlived your usefulness. Die." He launched a burst of energy towards Terra.

"No!" She yelled as she set up a shield to repel Magius' magic.

**Space** Pirates closed in around Sephiroth. The silver haired swordsman knocked some back with a burst of fire, and impaled the rest with his sword. None touched him as he stood there, the bodies of the dead already piling up around him. He drifted to anther group, deflected their laser shots with his sword, and brought his sword down on one Pirate. It ran the whole length of the body and came out the other end. Sephiroth smiled as the other Pirates fell back out of fear.

"You're mine, Sehpiroth," Cloud yelled as he ran up to him, sword drawn. Sephiroth smiled wordlessly, and fired a blast of magical energy at Cloud, knocking him back.

"Ugh," Cloud groaned, as he rubbed his head. He saw Sephiroth float up, and descend next to Cloud. He skewered another unfortunate Space Pirate approaching him from behind. The silver haired warrior then raised his sword, and pointed it downward.

"I will finish you," Sephiroth said. "Like I finished the girl. That way you can always be with her." A screech. "What?" Sephiroth said.

Ridley came flying overhead, and knocked Sephiroth back. Sephiroth took flight with a growl after the Space Pirate. Ridley dove after him, clawing at the armor. Sephiroth parried each blow, and slashed at Ridley. The Space Pirate dodged agily, and countered with a breath of fire to Sephiroth's face.

"Foul wretch," Sephiroth said.

"Big words," Ridley hissed. "For a small man."

Sephiroth's mouth twisted, and he lunged towards Ridley, who flew off to the side. The sword thrust missed Ridley by bare inches. Ridley slashed Sephiroth across the face. Sephiroth just laughed.

He pushed Ridley back, and hit him where Wildfire's earlier shot hit. Ridley grimaced in pain, and Sephiroth brought his long sword around and slashed Ridley across the torso. The Space Pirate fell to the ground in a lump. Sephiroth descended next to him.

Cloud, who could just watch their duel from the ground, now ran up to Sephiroth. The one-winged angel raised his blade to deliver the finishing blow to Ridley, and brought the blade down. Only to find Cloud's sword there instead.

"No magic, no flying," Cloud said. "Only you, me, and our blades."

"If that's how you want to die," Sephiroth said. "Then fair enough."

**Kefka** was busy having fun. He sent blast after blast of magic into the ranks of the Space Pirates decimating them. He laughed his cold, maniacal laugh with each blast. But now he yearned for greater prey. He laughed as Kraid bellowed and rushed towards Kefka. The large beast connected with the laughing angel's form, and stopped. Kefka held him back with his own strength, laughing maniacally. Kefka smacked Kraid hard enough to send the hulk recoiling.

"You brute!" He laughed. "You think you could stop me? That's rich!"

Kraid bellowed, and swatted at Kefka. This caught Kefka off guard, and the blow connected, sending Kefka away a few feet. Just as the madman recovered, a net arrow enveloped him and brought him to the ground.

"What is this?" He yelled.

"A net arrow, laughing boy," Hawkeye said, walking up to him, an arrow notched.

"You think a mere net could hold _me_?" His laugh echoed throughout the room. With a burst of energy, Kefka cut his way through the net. Hawkeye quickly fired his arrow, which was knocked out of the way by a burst of magic. Another burst of magic caught Hawkeye in the chest, sending him back.

"Go back to the carnival!" Kefka laughed. "And leave the fighting to the professionals – wherever they are."

**Iron Man's** head rang as he got up. Who the two-twisted angel figures were, he could only guess. All he knew is that the silver haired one was tangling with Ridley, and Kraid and Hawkeye were working on the other one.

He kicked his boot jets into gear, and went to go check up on the rest of the fighting. His eyes widened as he saw the ensuing duel between Terra and Magius. _Samus got her out!_ He thought with some relief. Galactus' husk was still a husk. _Also good_. He couldn't see any trace of Doom or any other members of the Syndicate. _I guess the rats are leaving a sinking ship. Things could be looking up!_

Then he saw Faith finish putting Samus into the capsule that held Terra not too long ago.

"Samus!" He yelled as he dove towards Samus, and the armor clad warrior.

He unleashed a full repulser volley into Faith, knocking her to the ground. She quickly countered with a missile, which hit Tony in the torso. He flew back a bit, and was about to go back in when he saw Hawkeye get blasted by one of the angels. Kraid was moving in, but Iron Man couldn't leave his friend in that position. _Samus isn't going anywhere, he thought painfully._ Iron Man flew forward.

"And leave the fighting to the professionals – wherever they are," Kefka laughed. Then Iron Man's repulsers hit him in the back.

"Right behind you, clown-face," Iron Man said.

"Oh, another one," Kefka laughed. "And the name's Kefka. What do they call you, Captain Scrapheap?" He laughed again.

"You're worse than Doom," Iron Man groaned as blasted Kefka with his repulsers again. They hit Kefka, who let out a grunt.

"Hey, that hurt!" Kefka said. "Now, the gloves come off!" He laughed.

"Bring it on," Iron Man said.

"Eat Flare Star!" Kefka said as he unleashed a massive amount of energy towards Iron Man.

Iron Man barely dodged the blast, though he could feel the heat of it even through his armor. _Not good. If I get hit by one of those, I'm cooked._

"Blast!" Kefka said. "Stand still!"

"I don't think so," Iron Man said.

"Flare Star!" Kefka yelled again. Iron Man braced himself for the attack, but a bright flash interrupted it. Iron Man looked down, and saw Hawkeye up and readying another arrow. He gave a quick salute to Tony, who returned it. _Thanks Clint._

He quickly started rerouting his power supplies. _I have one shot at this._ He thought. _But I'm going to need it to take this Kefka down. _Kefka recovered himself and laughed.

"You think you can beat me?" Kefka laughed.

"No," Iron Man said as he blasted Kefka full on with his powered up repulsers. The force knocked Kefka to the ground with a loud thud. The madman struggled to get up, his body was bruised, and his wings singed. "I _know_ we can beat you," Iron Man said.

Kraid bellowed as he walked up to Kefka, and stepped on him, despite the twisted angels' screams.

"Thank you for shutting him up, Kraid," Iron Man said. Kraid just bellowed. _Now back to Samus_ he thought.

**The** swords clashed in a flurry of blows. Cloud and Sephiroth were engaged in a very tense duel. Cloud slashed repeatedly at Sephiroth, who effortlessly parried every blow. Sephiroth then countered, with Cloud parrying blow after blow.

"How long must this continue," Sephiroth said. "Before you realize it is fruitless to win against me and just give up?"

"As long as it takes to beat you – again," Cloud said.

"Have it your way," Sephiroth said as he jumped over Cloud, and stabbed him from behind in the right shoulder. Cloud screamed out in agony, and turned around. He awkwardly switched his sword to his off hand. "Give up." Sephiroth said.

"No," Cloud said as he slashed awkwardly at Sephiroth. The silver haired man easily parried the blow, and kicked Cloud away. He hit the ground with a thud. Cloud's breathing was labored, his sword barely in his grasp.

Sephiroth's footsteps echoed on the station's floor as he walked slowly up to Cloud. He lifted his sword over his head, ready to stab down on the hapless Cloud. Cloud closed his eyes briefly, trying to control his breathing. His hand grasped his sword tighter. Sephiroth now stood over him, a thin smile on his lips. He lifted his sword up.

But Cloud stabbed upwards first. The sword caught Sephiroth in the gut. He went wide-eyed, and sweat beaded down his face. Silver strands of hair covered the Herald's face. The he laughed softly. Cloud just stared as Sephiroth continued to laugh.

Then, Cloud's eyes widened in shock as Sephiroth pulled himself back to where he pulled away from Cloud's sword. He fingered the wound lightly.

"Nice try," Sephiroth said, grasping his sword tighter. Cloud quickly got up, sword at the ready. Sephiroth charged.

Cloud parried his stroke, and spun behind Sephiroth. The silver haired angel quickly turned himself, and parried Cloud's strike. Strike, parry. Strike, parry. Strike, parry, strike, parry. The two warriors were laboring under their wounds, breathing hard, and just stared at each other.

Sephiroth smiled again as he charged forward. Cloud made like he was going to circle around Sephiroth again, but instead slashed Sephiroth across the gut, spun behind him, leapt into the air, and brought his blade crashing down on Sephiroth's skull. He then dislodged the blade from the skull, and did an upward slash similar to the one used to finish off Silence. And then Sephiroth fell to the ground, blood pouring from the fallen body.

"And stay dead," Cloud breathed.

**Terra** was buckling. Magius was strong. It was taking all she had to stop his magic while he brushed hers off with ease. She fired off another spell; Magius dispersed it with a wave from his hand. He fired off another one of his spells, Terra stood her ground, but the force nearly swept her off of her feet.

"Give it up child," Magius said. "You are weak."

"Why?" Terra asked. "Why did you use my world?"

"Because," Magius said. "It was ripe in magical energy. Energy I could use to revive Galactus. Your Espers were quite valuable."

"They were living beings!" Terra yelled.

"Tell that to Kefka – oh wait, Iron Man just flattened him," Magius said. "I guess there is no one to hear your pleas now, little girl. You and your friends just got in the way. I am just glad that I finished my research before you and that fool Kefka destroyed my research facilities."

"Why did you need them?" Terra pleaded. "Why couldn't you just have left us alone?"

"Because," Magius said. "Galactus would have come again, and maybe destroyed your world. I did what I did to ensure that wouldn't happen again."

"But my world would not have been affected – you brought it here, to this time," Terra said, her reserves buckling.

"Yes, I did. But that was a fluke. I didn't mean for you to get involved. I wanted to return you to your proper place, but complications happened. The Janus would have returned your world to its proper place, but even the best laid plans can go awry."  
"Liar," Terra said. "You would have not spared our world."

"You think not?" Magius said with a sneer. "If you think that lowly of my integrity, then your world will be the first test of our new weapon."

"No," Terra said. "No!" She yelled. Then the energy being flung at her no longer mattered. She _had_ to stop Magius. Here and now. Her energy replenished itself, and her will strengthened. She could feel herself growing stronger. Her body transformed itself to a shimmering being of pink energy as she thought of Edgar, Celes, Locke, and the others. Her friends, her family.

"No more worlds will die because of your reckless hate," Terra said. Magius' eyes widened and Terra blasted him fully with a Flare spell. The impact knocked him back next to the Janus. Magius struggled to get up, but the station shook again, and he laughed to himself. Terra was breathing hard, just watching the laughing lump on the ground as she returned to her normal form.

**Flying **was awkward for Iron Man, who was running only on a quarter power, and one reliable boot jet. But he made his way for Samus. To his dismay, Faith was still guarding her. _Doom, Kefka, and now Faith. Where does it end?_ That is when he saw Terra, now a shimmering pink figure, blast Magius back next to the Janus.

Faith reacted quickly, moving towards her employer's side, and Iron Man took this cue to move in. The station rumbled again. _Not good_, he thought. He landed a few feet from the containment capsule in a run, and quickly made his way to Samus. Another shudder from the station.

Iron Man quickly blasted the controls to the capsule, and pulled Samus out of it. She barely moved.

"Samus!" Iron Man frantically removed her helmet. She was barely breathing and her eyes were closed.

"Samus, speak to me," Iron Man said.

"Tony," she said weakly, her eyes fluttering open. "What took you so long?" Tony just laughed.

"It's over," Tony said. "The Heralds are down, as is Magius."

"No," Samus said. "It is just beginning."

"She's right, Iron Man," Magius' voice boomed. "For the time of the Awakening is now! Kyliska ta Lekya, the Devorer of Worlds, Galactus himself is now ready to rise!"

"Ah crap," Iron Man said.


	8. Chapter 8 The Devourer of Worlds

_Just a quick note before we begin the beginning of the end here: the issue of Cloud's limit breaks has come up a few times now, and I wanted to comment on them. I am avoiding saying 'Cloud uses Omnislash' type of things, as I am trying to avoid saying 'Terra uses Ultima' (which she does in this chapter - but in a different way). So, that said, if you read closely here, you will see him dishing out a limit break to Galactus himself, so hopefully it won't disappoint!_

Chapter VIII – The Devourer of Worlds

"She's right, Iron Man," Magius' voice boomed. "For the time of the Awakening is now! Kyliska ta Lekya, the Devorer of Worlds, Galactus himself is now ready to rise!"

"Ah crap," Iron Man said.

"Tony," Samus said, trying to get up. "We have to stop him. Galactus cannot be allowed to wake up."

"I know," Iron Man said. "But what about you?"

"I'm fine," she said harshly. "There are bigger things here."

"Samus," Iron Man said.

"She's weak, Iron Man," Terra said in a distant voice as she walked up to them. "I can help her regain her strength, for I'm afraid we're going to need every last bit of it we have."

"Do it," Iron Man said. Samus' eyes closed again. Terra touched Samus' forehead gently, and muttered the words to a Cure spell. Samus immediately opened her eyes. Stunned, she got up.

"Samus?" Iron Man asked, still kneeling.

"Don't just stand there," Samus said, putting on her helmet. "We have to stop Magius."

"Right," Iron Man said, getting up.

**Iron Man,** Samus and Terra quickly regrouped with Hawkeye, Kraid, Ridley, Cloud and what remained of the Space Pirates.

"What's he babbling about, Shellhead?" Hawkeye asked as the three arrived.

"I think he's about to revive Galactus," Iron Man said.

"Then," Ridley said with a forced hiss. "We need to make sure Kyliska doesn't wake up."

"You're not doing anything," Hawkeye said. "Not in your condition."

"I've fared worse, human," Ridley hissed.

Hawkeye looked at Cloud's wounds, Iron Man and Samus' ragged armors, and Terra's dazed look. He sighed.

"I don't think any of us are in really good shape for this kind of fight," Hawkeye said.

"That doesn't mean we can walk away and leave millions to die, Clint," Samus said.

"I never said I would," Hawkeye said. "I plan to fight until the end."

"You don't die here, Clint," Samus said. "So don't plan on _that_ either."

"How do I die, Samus?" He asked with a distant voice.

"In a blaze of glory," Samus said. "But not here. Not here."

"Good," he said. "Because I don't plan on dyin' today." The station trembled again and Magius laughed.

"Too late, heroes," he said again. "You're futile attempt to stop me will not succeed! The power is mine."

"Listen to yourself Aluren," Iron Man said. "You're obsessed."

"I told you not to use that name!" Magius spat.

"You are obsessed," Iron Man said. "With Galactus. Ever since the first time he came to Earth, you've been obsessed with the power he possessed. It was always his power that you wanted; yet you hid behind a mantle of peace like a coward too afraid to face himself. Even now, you're scared of the person you've become."

"You think you know me, Iron Man," Magius said. "But you do not. Look at you, Stark, you hide behind a mask, too scared to face the world, too scared of your own inventions." Iron Man gritted his teeth. "I only want peace. This universe is tearing itself apart, and only _I_ have the vision necessary to achieve peace."

"By using the being you claim to want to stop?" Samus said. "Iron Man was right, Aluren, you are mad."

"I am not!" He yelled.

"You are too blind to see what is going on around you," Samus said. "You have a narrow concept of peace. Yes, peace is most often achieved through force of arms, but all sides need to agree on it. You failed to see that during the Last War on Earth that resulted in the birth of the Federation, and you fail to see it now. Look at us," Samus gestured to the group behind her. "Former enemies banding together _in peace_ to stop a greater threat."

"A false alliance," Magius sneered. "One that will fall apart when this is over. I will bring peace by destroying those that disturb it. Admit it, Samus, there have been times where you wished you could make it all go away in one act of destruction instead of countless little ones." Samus swallowed.

"That is where you and I differ, Aluren. Ask yourself this: will you destroy yourself," Samus said. "When it is all done, and the only 'disruptions to peace' are you and your pet Devourer of Worlds?"

"I…," Magius stopped. "I don't know."

"Aluren," Samus said. "You are still in there. See what you have become, what you are about to do. What you propose will make you the greatest monster in history."

"No," Magius said through strained teeth. "I will be remembered as the savior of this barbaric Universe." The station shuddered again, and the Janus fired up.

"I would love to talk now, but I have plans to attend to," Magius said. "Since you robbed me of my batteries, I have to do this myself." He walked up to the Janus, and put his hands on the Heart. "Faith, make sure I am not disturbed." Faith nodded.

"The Heart is the key!" Iron Man exclaimed. "Without it, Aluren cannot channel his energy into the Janus."

"Awake," Magius said. "Mighty Galac.. Ugh." A shot, and Magius stood before the Heart, stunned, starting at the small hole in his chest, and then collapsed to the ground.

"I call this alliance over," Doom said from behind Magius, his gun pointed where the mystic once stood. Faith trained her gun arm on Doom, but promptly lowered it as Enchantress and Wrecker walked up to flank Doom.

"Be a dear, and cover _me_," Doom commanded Faith, and the armored warrior pointed her weapons back at the group. Doom walked up to the Janus and ripped the Heart out of it.

"What are you doing?" Iron Man asked.

"Taking what was promised me, Iron Man," Doom replied. "Power. Without the Heart, the Janus will not pour the energy into Galactus. But in my hands, it will allow the energy to pour out – into me. I will not be satisfied with controlling Galactus. No, I will absorb his power from the Janus and make myself a God in his stead. The Iron Fist of Doom will be felt all over this wretched galaxy."

"You.. fool.." Magius' voice said weakly. "Without the Heart controlling the Janus, Galactus will wake up uncontrolled. You'll doom us all."

"You," Doom said. "Are pathetic man, Joseph Aluren. And it is time for your long life to end." Doom pointed his gun down at Magius' head, and fired. The mystic died with a gurgling sound on his lips.

"Clint," Iron Man said.

"Well ahead of you," Hawkeye said as he fired an arrow. The arrow knocked the Heart out of Doom's hand, and sent it sliding across the platform.

"How dare you!" Doom said. "Wretched ingrates! Dispose of them!" He ordered Wrecker and Enchantress. They took only one step each before the station shuddered again.

"Too late," Terra said with a swallow.

The Janus shuddered and shook violently. After a few long seconds, it fired unstable blasts of energy around the station. One hit a Space Pirate, and had it writhing on the ground in pain before it died. Then the Janus stopped, at least for a moment. One, solitary blast was then fired – towards Galactus.

The hulking form of the Devourer of Worlds shook, and then was still. Doom and his cronies stepped back, and Enchantress' hold over Faith was broken. She let out a cry when she saw Magius' body crumpled on the ground. Then, the eyes lit up. Galactus' eyes shone with a fearful vengeance, and he stood up with the station rumbling. His form almost reached the ceiling.

"I think we've overstayed our welcome," Doom said bitterly. "Fall back." Doom, Wrecker, and Enchantress quickly ran towards one of the docking bays.

"Who dares disturb me?" Galactus' booming voice echoed in the room. He looked down upon the group. "Space Pirates," he spat. "And humans?"

"He doesn't look happy to see us," Hawkeye said.

"Should have brought a house warming gift," Iron Man said.

"You are trespassing on the grounds of Galactus, Devourer of Worlds. How did you get here?" He boomed. "Where are my Heralds? Kefka, Sephiroth come." His eyes widened he saw their still forms among the dead.

"You trespass here, destroy my station, and kill _my Heralds!_" Galactus boomed. "I will make you suffer before I kill you and destroy your worlds!"

"Not good," Samus said.

"I have an idea," Iron Man said quickly. "I am going to retrieve the Heart and use it and the Janus on him."

"Can you do it?" Samus said. "I mean without Terra or myself?"

"The Janus is nearly identical to the Heart, remember?" Tony said. "I think I can wing it. I just need you to cover me."

"Got it," Samus said.

**Iron Man** rerouted any non-essential power –including weapons- to his jets, as he needed them to get the Heart and retreat from a very angry Galactus. He sped forward as Galactus boomed. From behind him, missiles, magic, and arrows flew. All hit with the same effect: nothing. Galactus didn't even flinch. _A few more feet._

"Mere mortals," Galactus boomed. "Insects. Die." He fired a burst of energy at a group of space pirates, vaporizing them. _Almost there!_

A burst that Iron Man guessed came from Terra blasted Galactus in the face, causing him to recoil slightly with a grunt. _He's still weak! _Iron Man thought as he saw the Heart in front of him. He did a shallow dive, and skimmed the ground as he grabbed the golden object.

Quickly, Iron Man flew back towards the Janus as shots to and from Galactus were fired. _I have to be quick! Think fast Stark!_ A stray shot nicked his shoulder, and he felt the Heart slip. He quickly switched it to his other hand and flew forward, back to the Janus. Shots fired all around him.

Within mere moments, he reached the Janus, and grimaced as he saw Aluren's body. He quickly put the Heart in the place where Aluren had put it. The Janus powered up.

"Can you use it?" Faith asked frantically a few feet away. She was firing everything she had at Galactus.

"I hope so," Iron Man said.

**"Damn!"** Samus yelled. "He just keeps coming!" She fired the last of her super missiles at the towering figure.

"Time to upgrade the fire power," Ridley hissed as he grabbed a Phazon rifle from a fallen Space Pirate. "Forward!" Ridley said, and all Phazon-toting Space Pirates surged forward.

Kraid bellowed and lumbered forward. Cloud ran beside him, sword ready, and then proceeded to climb up Kraid, who bellowed as he did so. Kraid lowered a claw, and helped Cloud onto his shoulder, who went into a ready position.

"I'm down to my last few arrows," Hawkeye said with a grimace.

"We still have to give Tony some time!" Samus said, who switched to her plasma beam. Beside her, Terra was in her shimmering for again, flinging spell after spell at the Devourer of Worlds. "Huh?"

Samus stared at the figure running towards them, and recognized it as Faith in her black and blue armor. She then turned her attention back on Galactus, who was now interested in Ridley and his group.

"Samus," Faith said, breathlessly. "Iron Man says he needs some more time."

"How much?" Samus replied.

"As much as you can give him," Faith said. "But he said not to stay longer than you have to. He also suggested that you concentrate all fire on the face. It may keep him distracted a bit longer."

"Thanks for the advice," Samus said. "But I am not leaving here unless Galactus is_ dead_. Duck!" She yelled as Galactus fired a bust of energy at them. Samus rolled into her morph ball and sped away. She caught a glimpse of Hawkeye grabbing Terra and ducking behind some wreckage. Faith jumped back, firing at him. _She's not bad_. Samus thought.

"Die Kyliska!" Ridley hissed as he fired his Phazon cannon into Galactus' face. The other Space Pirates then opened fire on Galactus. "No more worlds will satisfy your hunger!"

"Wretched.. mortal…" Galactus said in a strained voice. "I will send you.. to the deepest depths of the abyss."

He swatted at Ridley, catching the Space Pirate full on, and sending him to the ground.

"Damn!" Samus said as she leapt up from her crouching position and kicked in her speed booster. She managed to catch Ridley before he hit the ground. The Space Pirate just grunted, his breathing was labored.

"Samus," he hissed with irritation.

"Now we're even," she said dryly.

From behind her, she could hear the shots coming from the Phazon cannons. She quickly glanced back, and saw Galactus recoiling from the shots. With a loud grunt, he fired a burst of energy back, flattening the Space Pirates.

Samus quickly regrouped with Hawkeye, Terra and Faith. She dropped Ridley on the ground, and continued to fire upon Galactus as the Towering form of Kraid and the small form of Cloud closed in. Kraid hit Galactus hard enough to make the Devourer of Worlds stumble. With the agility of a cat, Cloud leapt off the hulking dragon's shoulder, and slashed Galactus in mid air. The blade bit.

Cloud then brought his blade around in a fluid motion struck again. And again. And again. After a dozen slashes, Cloud stuck his blade in Galactus, and used that to slow his descent. Kraid continued to batter him back while a few remaining Space Pirates fired shots as they fell back.

"Wow," Terra said softly as Galactus cried out, and stepped back.

"He's still coming, though," Hawkeye said.

_**Just** a little while longer,_ Iron Man thought frantically as he tweaked the Janus' controls. They were more complicated than he thought. The Espers and Materia gave off an eerie sensation, and he wondered how someone like Aluren or Terra must have felt around him. _Focus Stark_! He shook himself away from the allure of the Magicite. It was hard enough to drown out the sounds of battle around him without another distraction. _Hold on just a bit longer Samus._

"**Tony**," Samus whispered. She swallowed hard. "Unleash everything we have left!" Samus yelled. Kraid was getting battered now, and started to retreat with cover fire from Samus and Faith. Cloud was already returning, dodging shots. Galactus fought with newfound strength.

"What does it take to stop him!?" Faith cried.

"More than we have," Terra said in a breathless voice. "I can feel him. He is weak, but even weakened he is more than a match for us." She unleashed a blast of blue energy that hit Galactus in the chest, and expanded into an iridescent dome of destructive energy. It sent Galactus reeling only slightly.

Samus and Faith fired their remaining missiles in two continuous streams into Galactus' face. He turned his attention towards them now.

"My last arrow," Hawkeye said as he brought it up and aimed.

"What is it?" Samus asked.

"I don't know," Hawkeye said. "Gyllin put it together for me shortly after we arrived. He told me to use it 'only when retreat is not an option.' I think this qualifies."

"Agreed," Cloud said as he ran up to the group. "He just won't slow down." Kraid bellowed weakly as he lumbered passed them.

"Had enough foolish insects?" Galactus boomed again.

"Not quite," Hawkeye yelled as he fired his last arrow. It stuck into Galactus' chest, and erupted in a brilliant flash of light, then an explosion, and then they energy was sucked back into Galactus, hitting him again.

"Impressive," Hawkeye whistled.

"Gyllin," Samus said. "You never cease to amaze me."

Galacuts reeled, but soon stood tall again. He laughed.

"Is that the best you have? You are pathetic!" His voice was strained

"Just another minute," Terra said. "I feel them now. The Espers are speaking to me."

"What do they say?" Cloud asked.

"Good bye," Terra said quietly.

"Well, then," Ridley said weakly. "Let's give Iron Man his last minute."

Samus, Faith, Terra, and the remaining Space Pirates all fired their bursts at once, and forced Galactus to stop with a grunt. Galactus laughed again as he moved forward, and the heroes' shots waned.

Then, in a brilliant flash of blue-white light, the Janus fired. It hit Galactus square in the chest, and the Devourer of Worlds looked like he was having a massive heart attack. He staggered back, and slumped on his throne, as the Janus remained trained on him.

"I'm afraid it's not going to finish him," Iron Man said as he landed next to Samus. He was holding the Heart. "The Magicite was pretty well drained, and because of Doom, it isn't up to full power. It will only slow him down."

"Damn it," Samus said. "Now what?"

"I don't know," Iron Man shrugged. He looked over at Galactus, and his towering from was already starting to slowly get up.

"Wait," Samus said. "I'm getting a message." She paused; all faces were trained on her. Galactus was on his feet now, but his face was sunken and pale. "We have to move! Now!" She yelled as a Federation cruiser passed overhead on the dome's illuminated ceiling.

"Samus," Gyllin's voice came across the station's intercoms. "You're all okay?"

"Yes," Samus said. "What is this?"

"I happened to be very good friends with Admiral Wells of the Federation fleet, and he happened to owe me a favor. Between our ships and the Space Pirate's, the Syndicate is pretty much routed.

"Excellent," Samus said. "We can talk later. I do not want to be here when you bring this place down."

"What!" Faith exclaimed.

"Who's that?" Gyllin asked.

"Long story," Samus said.

"Anyway," Gyllin said. "Wells thinks it best we just bombard Galactus and get it over with."

"Gyllin," Iron Man said. "He's been weakened by the Janus, concentrate all fire on him, and he probably won't survive it."

"Precisely what we want to hear," Gyllin's voice crackled. "Now get out of there!"

"You heard him," Samus yelled. "Move!" Hawkeye ran off, with Kraid and the other Space Pirates in tow, Cloud grabbed Terra's hand, and the two followed.

"Come on, Bulb-head," Iron Man said as he grabbed Ridley and flew off.

"Faith!" Samus yelled. "Come on!"

"I'm staying," she said. "I don't want to leave him."

"Aluren is dead!" Samus said. "Leave him. He wouldn't want you to die here!"

Faith paused. A shot shattered the dome overhead. The room depressurized, and objects were getting sucked out. Samus activated her magnetic boots, and Faith did the same.

"Faith," Samus said. "You have potential. You can be _good_. But you won't be if you stay here!"

"All right," she said after a short pause. Another shot rang through the station; this one hit the Janus, shattering it, and Joseph Aluren's dream with it. Samus and Faith then ran off through the station, back to her ship.

**Galactus** barely stood. The Janus had weakened him, just like before. His soul was trapped in that wretched machine for what seemed like an eternity – even to him. And now, he stood, watching the Earth ships bombard his station, and all he could do was watch.

"You not defeat me!" he boomed as he lifted his head in a feeble attempt to strike at the ship right above. The ship fired first, and the blow struck him, forcing him back. A second shot, and a third. The Devourer of Worlds collapsed onto his throne, breathing hard. A fourth shot hit him in the chest, and he felt the life rush out of him just like it did with the Janus many years ago.

"Curse you… Aluren," he breathed. "Curse you into the abyss." Then the Devourer of Worlds, Kyliska ta Lekya, Mighty Galactus, drifted off into eternal sleep on his throne of pain.

**Samus'** ship sped away, along with two Space Pirate transports. Behind them, the Federation ships made short work of Galactus and his space station. Samus concentrated hard to keep her ship bearing a record six people from being turned into space dust against the increasing amount of debris.

In the distance, the metal sphere that was Galactus' tomb exploded in a brilliant flash of light.

"Kinda strange, isn't it Shellhead?" Hawkeye asked. "Never thought I'd live to see such an event."

"Yeah," Iron Man said. "But it is a bittersweet victory, Clint. He is dead here, but very much alive in our time."

"Yeah," Clint said heavily.

"Oh, Samus," Iron Man said. "I'm impressed."

"Huh?" Samus said, distracted.

"You're weren't responsible for this one!" Iron Man grinned from behind his mask. Hawkeye had a confused look on his face.

"Shut it Iron Man!" Samus said, and then busted up laughing.


	9. Chapter 9 The Day After

Chapter IX – The Day After

Tony Stark stared at himself in the mirror. The battle worn face looked back at him with tired eyes. He straightened the Federation dress uniform leant to him for the party. It was a midnight blue tunic with gold buttons running down its center with a pair of matching slacks.

He closed his eyes and sighed. In a few short hours, he would be leaving for home again. Earth, the 21st Century. Back to war and destruction. Back to the Avengers, back to his company. Away from Samus. In the mirror's reflection, he could see the Heart sitting on the bed behind him in the small guest quarters. _So much destruction for such a little thing._ He thought.

A knock on the door jarred him from his thoughts. He walked briskly towards the door, and pressed a button. It opened with a hiss. Clint stood there in a similar dress uniform.

"Hey, what's takin' so long, Tony?" He asked. "The others are ready. Come on."

"Yeah," Tony said as he exited the room, the door shutting with a hiss.

"Cheer up, Tony," Clint said. "It's a celebration, and we have some stuff to celebrate!"

"I don't feel much like celebrating, Clint," Tony said.

"I know you're upset, Tony," Clint said. "About Samus and all, but, please, try to enjoy yourself." Clint patted him on the shoulder. "At least for me."

"I'll try," Tony said with a wan smile. "It's just the weight of everything. Not just Samus. We have so much to do back in our time, where Galactus is still alive. I have my company, where I work to design better weapons." He paused. "I just want to know that my inventions _save_ lives, not take them. After seeing what happened to Aluren and Gyllin, I want to not be known as a weapons designer."

"Tony," Clint said. "You won't. The Iron Man armor has saved countless lives. Think about it. All those years with the Avengers weren't for nothing! You just have to realize that sometimes that to obtain peace, you have to bonk some heads. Aluren saw that, and," Clint paused. "He had a point there, despite his other views. I think Samus agrees as well. Samus and Gyllin both told me that you achieve great things, and you know what, Tony? I agree with them. I know you way to well to doubt you."

"Thanks, Clint," Tony said, pulling Clint towards him as they walked.

**At** the end of the hall, the others were waiting for the two Avengers. Each wore a Federation uniform for the occasion. Cloud and Terra smiled as they approached, and walked up to them. It seemed weird to Tony to see Cloud without that sword of his. Terra gave each of them a hug in turn, while Cloud shook their hands. Behind them, Iron Man saw Samus talking to a blonde-haired woman also in a Federation uniform.

"Pardon me," Tony said to Terra and Cloud as he walked up to Samus.

"I'm sure the Federation will overlook your record, Faith," Samus said as Tony walked up to her. She glanced over her shoulder. "Tony," she jumped.

"Samus," he said.

"You look good," each said at once, and then laughed.

"Tony," Samus said. "Faith has decided to help us round up the remnants of the Syndicate."

"Really?"

"Yes," Faith said softly. "Aluren was a noble man, but the company he kept wasn't always so noble. With him dead, the Syndicate will most likely just turn into a group of mindless thugs."

"Yeah," Tony said. "That is an honorable thing to do. Speaking of mindless thugs, where are our other friends?"

"Ridley and his Space Pirates took off once Galactus was dead and we were ready to go," Samus said. "The Federation and the Space Pirates said their token appreciations of thanks, and that was it. Both sides wanted as little to do with the other as possible."

"Then things are back to normal for you?" Tony asked.

"I guess we'll see," Samus said with a shrug.

The door at the end of the hall then opened as Gyllin walked through. He also wore a Federation uniform, but his was decorated with a variety of accolades.

"The Admiral told me to inform you that the party is set to begin," Gyllin said with a bow, motioning them in.

"Thank you, Gyllin," Samus said with a smile as she walked in.

Tony followed, with Faith cautiously moving in behind him. Terra, Cloud, and Hawkeye soon followed.

_**This** is some party_, Clint thought as he looked around. _Puts the one at the summit to shame!_ Around the large room, tables adorned with expensive tablecloths sporting the Federation logo, Earth surrounded by a laurel crown, lay scattered around the room, each with food and drink both exotic and familiar. Banners with the Federation logo hung around the room, and windows along the back wall revealed the starscape outside as the Federation cruiser headed back towards Earth. Clint smiled as he went to the open bar. Cloud and Terra followed him.

"And what will you have," the young Federation officer behind the bar asked.

"Have any beer?" Clint asked. "Don't care as much for the 'fancy drinks'."

"Uhh, I think so," the officer said, rummaged around the bottom cabinet, and appeared shortly later, holding a bottle of beer. "Yes we do."

"Good, make it three," he said, indicating Terra and Cloud. The officer handed Clint the three bottles, already opened.

"Drink up and celebrate," Clint said, handing Terra and Cloud each a bottle. Clint took a swig from it and smiled. "_This_ is good beer."

Terra and Cloud each looked at him funny, and then took a tentative swallow. Each made a face, stared at each other, and swallowed hard.

"Don't worry," Clint said. "It's an acquired taste to some people."

The three walked around the party, checking out the variety of foods. Each one daring the others try out the unfamiliar ones. Some were okay, some were disgusting, and some were quite delicious. After sampling the local cuisine, the three walked next to one of the view ports, Clint finishing up his beer while Cloud and Terra politely nursed theirs.

"So what do you guys plan on doing now?" Clint asked.

"The Federation said they will drop Cloud and I off at our respective home worlds," Terra said, taking another drink from her beer. "They think that with Mag – I mean Aluren – gone, things will return to normal now. I just want to settle down now that I feel that now my 'destiny' is finally over. I can actually get on with my life, to live how I want to. I can't wait to get back to the orphanage." She was smiling now.

"I'm looking forward to seeing my friends," Cloud said. "And relax, like Terra said. I think a month at Costa del Sol will do it," he finished with a grin.

"I don't blame ya," Clint said. "I think I'm due for some R&R myself with the Avengers."

"I doubt we'll ever be able to see each other again," Terra said with a sigh.

"Yeah," Cloud said, looking at her.

"Hey, don't get depressed here," Clint said. "It's a party, have fun!" _Everyone seems so depressed _Clint thought as he sighed inwardly.

"**Tony**, Samus," Gyllin said. "This is Admiral Wells."

"The inventor of the Iron Man armor himself standing here in front of me, it is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stark," Admiral Wells said. He was tall and well built, filling his Federation dress uniform. Like Gyllin's, his was very decorated. His black hair was cropped short, and peppered with gray. The lines of his face accented his rough features perfectly. He smiled broadly, extending a hand towards Tony.

"A pleasure," Tony said. "And call me Tony."

"Tony it is. And Miss Aran," he turned towards Samus. "It is an honor to finally meet you. The woman who single handily destroyed the Metroid scourge."

"That's me," Samus said with a wry grin. "And I've heard quite a bit about you as well, Admiral."

"Yes," the Admiral responded politely.

"So how do you know Gyllin?" Samus said, as the old man went to go grab another drink.

"We were in the Academy together," the Admiral said.

"He was in the Academy?" Samus asked with wide eyes.

"Yup, he would be an Admiral now himself if he didn't quit," the Admiral said with a sip of his drink. "We were undergoing a combat simulation with live ammo, and I got hit in the chest with a stray bullet – we were still practicing with projectile weapons in those days, barbaric things they are – and the others just left me be. It was a competition, see, and the winner would get top accolades. If they helped me, their chances at success were nil.

"Then Gyllin came in and saved me," Wells continued. "He shot his chances at winning the thing, but he didn't care. He left shortly after wards in disgust, despite the merits he received from the act."

"That is when he started working for the military?" Tony asked.

"Yes," Wells nodded. "He even turned down Aluren's Jenova project – did he tell you that?"

"Yes," Tony nodded. Samus just looked confused.

"So that is what Gyllin meant by 'calling in favors'?" Samus asked.

"Yes," Wells said. "I've been in his debt ever since. Though I think this hardly counts as suitable repayment as Galactus was a threat to all life."

"The debt is repaid, Wells," Gyllin said with irritation. "Don't worry about it."

"Of course, Gyllin," Wells said with a smile.

"So now what?" Samus asked. "What about the Space Pirates, the station's wreckage, and the Syndiacte."

"Well," Wells said. "The station will eventually crash into the planet's surface. The planet is uninhabited, so it won't affect any one. I have crew there to make sure people won't scavenge for any bits of Galactus' technology."

"And keep anything of interest for the Federation," Samus said with a grin.

"Now what gives you that idea," Wells said with a wolfish grin. Samus just smiled, and took a gulp of the drink she was holding.

"As for the Syndicate, we are employing Faith to help us hunt them down, as you know. It shouldn't take long to find them. Without Aluren holding them together, they are no longer much of a threat. Where is Faith anyway?" He asked looking around. Samus looked around and saw her standing in a corner, alone, staring out into space. Samus just shrugged her shoulders.

"Anyway," Wells continued. "The Space Pirates are not really talking to us, so I assume that it will be status quo. I guess it was too much to expect peace with them," Wells sighed.

"Yeah," Samus said. "Surprise there."

"Also, one last thing," Wells said. "This is for Gyllin as well. In light of these recent events, the Federation has decided to put a ban on time travel technology." Gyllin spat out his drink. "After you return Mr. Stark and Mr. Barton to their time, and we return Terra and Cloud, all time travel devices are to be destroyed. Got that Gyllin?"

"Yes," he grumbled.

"Well, then," Wells said. "Let us put all the business behind us now, and enjoy the party!"

**Clint** was a little tipsy from the drinks, but nothing too major. He was now in his Hawkeye uniform again as he walked down the hallway to Cloud and Terra's room. With a sigh, he stopped and closed his eyes. They would all be returning home soon, and he hated saying good-bye.

He was surprised to find their door slightly open. Talking came from the room, so Clint decided to just sit outside for a while, trying not to listen to their conversation.

"I am going to miss you," Terra said.

"I know," Cloud said, wiping a tear from her face. "You are an amazing person, Terra."

"Thank you," Terra said softly. "So are you."

Cloud just smiled.

"Why did you want to protect me so much?" Terra asked. "Why did you volunteer for this?"

"Because," Cloud said. "You remind me of someone who I once knew, and lost because I couldn't protect her. I wanted to protect you so that I could conquer that demon inside of me."

"Cloud," Terra whispered as she hugged him. He hugged her back, running his hands through her green hair. Wordlessly, they both stared at each other, and Cloud leaned forward and kissed her gently. Terra promptly returned it.

After a few moments, Terra pulled away and sighed.

"I think Clint's been waiting for us long enough," Terra said as she used her magic to open the door, and find Clint standing there.

"Uh, hi," he said, waving his hand. "I came by to tell you that the transport to take you guys home is ready to leave."

"Thank you, Clint," Cloud said as he and Terra got up. Cloud retrieved his sword, and the two walked up to the door.

"I don't want to impede upon your last moments here," Clint said. "So, I will just tell you where the transport is. Just follow the hall, go down to level B2, and you'll be right there."

"Thank you Clint," Terra said, giving him a hug, and a kiss on the cheek.

"Uh, hey, no problem, Terra," he said with a slight blush.

"Clint," Cloud said, extending his hand. "It has been an honor fighting along side of you."

"It has been a pleasure, Cloud," Clint said. "If it were possible, you guys would make a pair of great Avengers. Both of you take care."

"We will," Terra said, and the two walked off hand in hand. Clint just smiled as he watched them go. _I'm actually going to miss them_ he thought.

**The** big blue ball that was the planet Earth now stretched in front of Samus' ship. Samus, Tony, and Clint were up in the cockpit as they stared at it. Each was wearing their respective costume/armor. Inside, Tony was not happy to see it. He swallowed hard as he remembered the scene back on the Federation cruiser.

"Tony," Samus said as she approached him after the party. He was walking back to his quarters when she caught up to him.

"Samus," Tony said as he saw her approaching.

"I want to talk to you," Samus said, as she practically shoved him through the door to his quarters.

"Samus," Tony said with a smile as he stared at her in her Federation uniform. Her hair was tied back, but she now undid it to where it cascaded behind her. She fixed him with her brown eyes.

"I won't lie to you Tony," she said. "I hate long good-byes."

"So do I," Tony replied nervously.

"I also believe that actions speak louder than words," she said as she walked up to him, grabbed him and kissed him fiercely on the lips.

After a moment, they separated. Tony just stood there, speechless. Samus just grinned at him.

"Tony, I've already said all I wanted to say to you," she said.

"As have I," he replied.

With a shake of her head, she indicated his now clear bed. Tony just laughed.

Tony sighed as he was brought back to reality. He cradled the Heart in his hands.

"So what are you guys going to do when you get back?" Samus asked.

"Take a long vacation," Clint said. "And then maybe hunt Aluren down and take him out before this whole mess gets out of hand."

"I would advise against that," Samus said. "I shudder to think about what his disappearance from the time line will do to things. He _did_ stop Galactus, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Clint said.

"Tony?" Samus asked.

"Go back to inventing things," he said. "Some device that will change man kind for the better."

"What about the Heart?" Samus asked.

"I think," Tony said heavily. "That I have finally realized why the Heart doesn't exist in historical records, and it is not because of the time travel." He paused. "It is because I destroy it."

"What?" Clint exclaimed.

"Tony," Samus said. "After all this hard work, you tell me you're going to _destroy_ it?"

"Yes," Tony said. "After seeing what became of the Janus, I shudder to think what the Heart could do if used to power a weapon. Mankind is not ready for it yet. Maybe someday, but not yet."

He stood up. "Stand back." He put the Vulcan's Heart on the floor, aimed both repulsers at it, and fired. The Heart blew apart in a thousand tiny fragments there on the floor. Tony collapsed after doing that. _It's gone. It's finally gone._

"Tony," Samus whispered as she activated Gyllin's black time travel device.

"Whew, that was some ride," Hawkeye said as he and Iron Man walked back to the UN summit. Behind them, they could hear Samus' ship taking off, and flying into the reaches of space.

"Yeah," Tony said.

"Hey, it's okay, Tony," Hawkeye said. "I have a feeling you haven't seen the last of Samus. Hey, listen. If you ever want to talk, don't hesitate to ask all right?"

"Thank you, Clint," Tony said. "I appreciate that."

"Hey, that's what friends are for, ya know?" Clint said. "Hey, what do you suspect became of Doom and his cronies."

"Probably came back somehow."

"Yeah, I guess it is too much to hope for that he was on the station when it blew."

"Iron Man! Hawkeye!" Morin said as he ran up. "Have you found the Heart? People are wondering?"

"It's gone," Iron Man said. "Destroyed."

"What?" Morin exclaimed. "What happened?"

"I destroyed it," Iron Man said.

"But why?" Morin asked. "It was a brilliant invention."

"Maybe I'll explain it to you and the rest of the world when they are ready."

"Come on, I'll get you a drink," Hawkeye said, escorting Morin back inside the summit.

Iron Man stood outside, watching the sky. _Samus._ He thought. _I wish I could be with you. I miss you. But… I guess it was never meant to be._

"Tony," Samus whispered as she flew away from Earth, and back into her own time period. The stars looked so empty now, so lifeless. "I can't dwell in the past," Samus said. "I have to go forward, keeping my mind on the present." She swallowed. _But it is so hard_.

The com jarred her our of her thoughts. She flipped it on idly.

"Samus," Ridley's voice hissed.

"Great," Samus said to herself. "What do you want Ridley?"

"To formally end our alliance," he hissed. "Things are now back to normal."

"I gathered that since you didn't stay for the Federation party," Samus said.

"I am not crazy enough to hang around anyone associated with the Federation!" Ridley hissed.

"How are your wounds recovering?" Samus asked.

"Fine," Ridley said. "Thank you," he hissed bitterly.

"You're welcome," Samus said thickly. "So I guess we're enemies again?"

"Yes," Ridley said. "But if you don't interfere with our business, we won't interfere with yours."

"Sounds reasonable," Samus said. Ridley just hissed and turned off the com at his end. Samus was about to turn hers off when it buzzed again.

"Damn it, can't I get a bit of privacy here?" Samus said, irritated.

"Samus," Gyllin's voice came over the intercom.

"Gyllin," Samus said. "What can I do for you?"

"I need the time travel device back," Gyllin said in a heavy voice. "With the Federation's new ban, I have no choice."

"It's already been taken care of," Samus lied. It sat right in front of her.

"You think me an idiot, Samus," Gyllin sighed. "I'll tell the Federation that it has been taken care of, but please, _please_ don't do anything stupid. Okay?"

"I won't," Samus said.

"And don't bug Tony too much, okay? I don't want any weird time disruptions all right?"

"I won't," Samus said.

"Say hi to him next time you see him, though, okay?" Gyllin said.

"I will," Samus said as she flipped off the com.

She then sat there, staring at the stars, and sighed.

"I miss you already, Tony," she said. "Why is it that our type always has to suffer alone? Is there any room for love in a heart of steel?"

_Afterward:_

His whole body ached and hurt. Through strained eyes, Joseph Aluren could see the wreckage around him. Much of it still fell in flaming chunks from the sky. Twisted metal lay scorched around him as well as the charred bodies of those who fell on the station. How he survived he was uncertain. Probably somehow connected to his mystic blood. His head hurt, most likely from that treacherous bastard Doom's shot, and all he could do was lay there. In the distance, the sound of some large object rolling could be heard.

Aluren was in a field of soft, comfortable grass, and he rolled over. The sun blinded his face as he stared in the clear blue sky. A few puffy clouds drifted idly by. Then, he turned his head sideways and saw the once mighty husk of Galactus. The giant sat, sunken and burnt with many gaping wounds. He still sat upon his throne. The rolling continued.

"My dream, my destiny," Aluren said with a wince. "My salvation," he whispered. "Gone." He reached his hand to where it covered his view of the former celestial being. Then he saw it.

From behind the hulking form of Galactus was a big, rolling, ball of – stuff. Many weird, and wondrous things were stuck to it, and Aluren just had to admire it. Then it rolled over the station bits, adding them to the mass. It then, rolled over the form of Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds now rolling with it. It moved towards Aluren.

His eyes widened as it approached him, and he screamed as he was rolled up into the mass.

"You have rolled up a Devourer of Worlds!" The King of All Cosmos said. "We have not seen one of those in a long time. We are most impressed, young prince, this shall make a fine Katamari. Royal Rainbow!"

_End Notes:_

_Well, it was a long time coming, but I think it was worth it! The scope changed so often during the planning stages, I almost didn't write this story. So after long moments of trimming the cast and plotline (I had multiple characters originally planned such as Spider-man, the FF, Superman….) to a much more manageable number, I came up with Hearts of Steel! I felt that the smaller, tighter cast allowed for more character development, which I prize as the most important aspect of fiction. And as for the end… well, I was on a Katamari Damacy binge when I wrote the end, so it just popped into my head as a humorous, whimsical end to the story. Royal Rainbow!_

_In dedication: I have read Avengers: Disassembled, and was upset to see Hawkeye die as he was my favorite comic character – this one is for you Clint!_


End file.
